His Dandere, Kuudere, and Yandere Believe it!
by Hoshimi-kun
Summary: Naruto's best friend is one of the most mysterious ninjas in Konoha, some people say she's a freak. Because when you're different you're not human, when you're not beautiful you're a monster.
1. Sasuke, Sakura, and Kenji

Sasuke, Sakura, and Kenji

Konohagakure, one of the shinobi countries led by the great Hokage. It's ninja Academy passed an entire class to promote to Genin, including Naruto Uzumaki. A girl with pure black hair and shiny silver irises stood up from her seat and welcomed him. "Naruto-kun!" she said with a blush. Naruto smiled and walked toward her. "Congratulations on passing!" she said. She also had her headband securely around her forehead.

Naruto sat next to her. "That test was a cinch! I'll become Hokage in no time! Believe it!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah! I'll be with you every step of way, Naruto." she said.

"Thanks, Kenji!" he said. Then two girls came in the classroom at the same time. They were the rivals Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka. They fought over who made it to class first.

Naruto blushed when he saw Sakura. Kenji was disappointed at this. "There he goes again. Looking at Sakura." she thought. Sakura looked in their direction and blushed. She then came over and Naruto stood up. "G-good morning, S-" Naruto started but was interrupted by Sakura just knocking him down.

"G-good morning, Sasuke-kun." she said to Sasuke who sat at the end of he bench. Kenji got in her face. "Chotto! Watch who you push!" she yelled at her.

"Oh, you got a problem!?" Sakura and Kenji got into an argument.

"Yeah! It's 4 feet tall and has a ginormous forehead!" Kenji told her and Sakura growled. "That's funny coming from an ugly freak like you!" Sakura retorted and lightning appeared between their foreheads.

Naruto got up by himself. "Why is everyone always talking about Sasuke!" he thought and soon he was on the table in Sasuke's face. Which set Sakura and a lot if the other girls in the class off.

Soon lightning was in between their foreheads. Then someone bumped Naruto from behind. Accidentally making Naruto and Sasuke make mouth contact. Making everyone watching upset in someway. They both gagged. "Naruto, I'll kill you!" Sasuke threatened.

Then Naruto sensed danger. . . Skip the beating. When Iruka came into the classroom Sasuke sat at the first end, Kenji in the middle, and Naruto at the other end. Iruka said they would put the kids in three man squads.

"Squad 7, Kenji Senju. . ." Iruka started and Kenji's face turned anxious. "Naruto Uzumaki. . ." he said next.

"Yatta!" Kenji cheered out of her seat.

"Sakura Haruno. . ." Iruka said next. Both Sakura and Kenji dropped their heads in disappointment as Naruto cheered "Yatta!"

"Why do I have to be with her!?" Kenji thought.

"I have to be with Naruto. . ." Sakura said with failure.

"And Sasuke Uchiha." Iruka finished.

"What!?" Kenji said.

"Yatta!" Sakura cheered and Naruto dropped his head. Kenji stood up.

"Hey, Sensei. Why is Sasuke on Squad 7? There's already three people." Kenji asked Iruka. Naruto also stood up. "Yeah! Why does he have to be on the same team!?" he asked. "The 3rd Hokage has decided this." Iruka said.

"The third?" Kenji asked.

"Yes, now then," Iruka continued and announced the other teams. Then class was dismissed for a lunch break. Kenji ran after Naruto. "Naruto-kun!" she called.

"Oh, hey Kenji. What's up?" he asked her.

"I was wondering if you'd like to have lunch together since we are on the same team now. . ." she blushed.

"Sorry Kenji, I'm gonna 'hafta' pass." Naruto said casually.

"Eh?" Kenji questioned.

"Yeah, I've already got plans with Sakura-chan." he said.

"Sakura again?" Kenji angled her eyebrows up.

"Yeah, after all . . . Sakura's so beautiful." he blushed and ran off. Kenji stared at the floorboards. "Sakura's beautiful. . . I never thought my appearance mattered until now. . ." she said to her self. Later she stood in the hallway. "Looks like I'll have to impress Naruto in another way. . . Yosh! I'll become a much better ninja than Sakura!" she thought. Then she heard rummaging coming from the door on her left. She opened it to find Sasuke tied up with rope.

**?** She was confused. . . "Ahahahahaha!" she pointed at him and laughed, she even watered her eyes. "Dude, you should see yourself right now!" she said and kept on laughing.

Then there was a 'poof' sound and Sasuke was out of the ropes. "You're just as immature as Naruto." he said.

"Crap! He used the Escape jutsu!" she said in her mind and made a run for it leaving behind a dust cloud. Sasuke walked out of the room. Kenji rested against the wall."Phew!" she sighed but soon Naruto and Sasuke came and ran into each other. "Hey! I thought I took care of you!" Naruto pointed at him.

"So, Naruto was the one that tied him up." Kenji said in her mind.

"I used the Escape Jutsu." Sasuke said with his hands on his hips. "One of the most basic techniques." Sasuke bragged. Naruto growled and put two fingers in a cross. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" he said and duplicated himself more than once. Kenji cracked a smile. "Amazing Naruto-kun! That's the best clone jutsu I've ever seen!" she praised in her head.

Then there was a gurgling sound and all the clones fought over the bathroom. Kenji sweated. "Well at least it was cool." Kenji said.

Then Sasuke pointed a kunai knife at her. "Now it's your turn." he said.

"Tch! You can't beat me." she said.

"Hn, I doubt that. . ." Sasuke said smuggly.

"Your mistake then," Kenji said behind him.

"Wha!?" Sasuke stuttered seeing that he didn't have the knife anymore and that Kenji was behind him. He turned around.

Kenji turned her head. "Thanks for the kunai, chump." she smirked, spun the kunai in the air, caught it, and put it away. "See ya." she said walking away.

* * *

**Hey guys! My little O.C is just going to replace Hinata Hyuga, sorry. Leave in the reviews whether or not you think this would be better or not. This may or may not have a Shippuden sequel. In case you think this would be interesting the Japanese voice actor for Kenji Senju would be Yui Ishikawa.**


	2. Kakashi Sensei's survival test!

Kakashi's Sensei's survival test!

Squad 7 was sitting in a room waiting for their Sensei. Naruto stood up. "Man! He's late! All the other teachers have left even Iruka Sensei." he exclaimed.

"He is tardy." Kenji said.

"We know! All we can do is wait." Sakura said. But Naruto took a stool and put a chalky eraser at the top of the sliding door.

"Baka, a shinobi at his level won't fall for a trick like that." Sasuke said. Then a hand grabbed the sliding door and the eraser fell on the person's. Naruto and Kenji laughed so hard. "He fell for it! Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Is this guy really a Jonin?" Sasuke said in his head. The gray haired shinobi was holding the eraser. "I'm sorry, Sensei. I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen." Sakura said.

But Inner Sakura was saying "Cha! That was awesome!"

The Jonin still holding the eraser looked up. "Well, how do I say this. . . As my first impression of you. You're all a bunch of idiots." he said and disappointment filled the room.

Later they were all up on the roof. "Now you should all introduce yourselves." he told them. Naruto raised his hand "But Sensei what do we say?" he asked.

"Things like your likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams. . ." he answered. Sakura raised her hand "Sensei, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" she asked.

"Me? Well, my name's Kakashi Hatake. I like and dislike a lot of things, as for my hobbies and dreams I have many." he said.

"In the end, all we know is his name." Sakura said. Naruto and Kenji agreed. "Now you!" Kakashi pointed to Naruto.

Naruto started adjusting his headband. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki. I like eating ramen and I dislike waiting 3 minutes for ramen to cook. My hobbies are comparing different ramen." he said. "And my dream is to surpass the Hokage and make everyone in the village acknowledge my existence! Believe it!" he added.

"Now you with the pink hair." Kakashi said.

"My name's Sakura Haruno, what I like I mean who I like. . ." she looked at Sasuke. "Kyaaa!. . . As for my dislikes, Naruto!"

"Most girls her age are more interested in boys than being a ninja." Kakashi thought.

**!** Naruto was shocked. Kenji scooted up and whacked her at the back of her head. "Ouch!" Sakura grabbed her head.

"Urusai!" Kenji clenched her fist.

"Now you the quiet one." Kakashi said.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I don't particularly like anything. Though there are a lot of things I hate. My goal is not a dream because I will make it happen." he started then Kenji slammed his head down on the concrete and basically stepped on his skull.

"Baka, why would you tell them you want to commit murder?" she whispered to him.

"Now you with the strange eyes." Kakashi pointed at her. Kenji widened her eyes.

"Did he just say I have strange eyes?" she thought.

"You can't fool people like me with that illusion." Kakashi said in his mind.

"W-well, my name's Kenji Senju, I also like eating ramen and I dislike people who go too far or cross lines. As a hobby I spend a lot of time training. . . My dream is build my future and become a great ninja." she introduced.

"Ok you all are different in your own ways." Kakashi told them.

"Is it just me or does this guy keep eying me?" Kenji thought.

"Tomorrow we'll have our first mission." he continued.

"Alright! So what kind of mission are we doing?" Naruto asked.

"A survival exercise." Kakashi answered him.

"Huh? A survival exercise?" Naruto asked.

"I thought we were doing a real mission not more practice. We already did this stuff in the Academy." Sakura said.

Kakashi explained that it was an extra test to become Genin. He told them to be at the third training ground at 5 am and to not eat breakfast to avoid vomiting. There was a high chance of failing and being sent back to the Acadmey.

The next day they all came to the training ground tired. With the exception of Sasuke. Kakashi was at least 3 hours late.

"Morning everyone. Ready for your first day?" he said.

"You're late!" Sakura and Naruto yelled at him.

"Well a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way." Kakashi told them.

"Tch. Yeah, next time I see a black cat I'll take the 3 hour route too." Kenji grumbled sarcastically. "I heard that." Kakashi said. Kenji's eyebrow started twitching.

"Grr! This guy's getting my nerves." she thought. Kakashi put a clock on one of the log posts. "There it's set for noon." he said and took out two bells. "Your task is simple all you need to do is take these bells from me. That's all there is to it." he told them. They jangled by the strings. "If you can't take them from me you go without lunch." he said.

Naruto panicked and Kakashi pointed to the log posts. "You'll be tied to one of those posts and watch while I eat my lunch in front of you." he said.

"So that's why." Sasuke thought.

"He told us not to eat breakfast to make it harder on us!" Sakura panicked. Kenji got big red pulsing vein and made a furious expression. "That's it! When I get my hands on him he's going down!" she thought.

"Wait a minute there's 4 of us. How come there's only 2 bells?" Sakura asked. Kakashi just smiled. "Well that way one of you will be tied to the post and that one will be disqualified and sent back to the Academy for failing the test. Then again all four of you could flunk out too." he said.

"Still there's 4 of us 2 bells. You just forgot to bring a bell didn't you?" Kenji said.

"Exactly." Kakashi answered her.

"Oh yeah! He's goin' down alright!" she thought.

"You may use any weapon including shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill me you don't have a chance." he said.

"Yeah right! You're afraid of kittens!" Kenji pointed at him.

"Haha! Yeah plus you could even dodge that eraser!" Naruto said.

"You know what they say about class clowns. They're losers." Kakashi said and Naruto came at him with a kunai knife. But Kakashi turned his knife against him, he said he was starting to like them and started the test. They all took off in different directions.

Later they all hid differently. "Let's go you and me right now! Fair and square!" he said.

"You know compared to the others you're a little weird." Kakashi said.

"Oh yeah! The only weird thing here is your hair cut!" Naruto said and charged at him. Kakashi reached into his pouch and Naruto stopped. But Kakashi just pulled out and opened an orange book. "Hey! What're you reading that book for!?" Naruto asked.

"Why? To find out what happens next of course." Kakashi said. Naruto got mad and just attacked him but Kakashi later got behind him. Kenji was hiding in the tree in the middle of the training ground. "What's he doing?" she asked.

"That's the tiger seal he's probably gonna do a fire jutsu." Sasuke thought. Sakura stood up from the bushes.

"Naruto hurry up and get out of there! You'll die!" she warned.

"Too late." Kakashi said. "Leaf village secret finger jutsu!" he exclaimed.

**!** Kenji's eyes widened. But then Kakashi forced his two fingers into Naruto's rear. "A thousand years of death!" he shouted as Naruto was sent flying. Kenji had her mouth covered with her hand and she even blushed a little. She saw Naruto land in the water.

"I'm so sorry Naruto-kun!" Kenji thought then she snapped out of it. When she heard Kakahsi. "Now where was I?" he opened up his book again.

"Ok! Naruto was bold enough to confront him head on! It's my turn to fight!" she reached into her pouch and started to take out a paper bomb. Kenji vanished and appeared in front of Kakashi. She kicked the book out of his hands, jumped backwards and caught it.

"Find yourself a new hobby!" she said and stuck the lit paper bomb on the cover.

**! **Kakashi widened his eye at the bomb. Kenji threw the book behind her and it exploded and clouds of smoke came from the area. "Now that that's outta of the way. I'm ready to fight you!" she ran towards him.


	3. Grab the bells pass the test!

Grab the bells pass the test!

Kenji was running towards Kakashi. She tried punching him but he guarded so she stepped on his knee and kicked him in the head. He lost his balance and stepped back but it turned out to be a log.

The real Kakashi tried to sneak attack her. But she turned and blocked it. During their contact Kenji reached for his right and Kakashi punched her in the gut which sent her flying. When she was in the air she was gritting her teeth and she landed sliding back on the ground. "She got me!" Kakashi thought.

He started to walk to her and she quickly ran away into the forest. She got to a high tree branch and opened her palm she had both of the bells. She smiled and put them in her pocket.

Naruto tried attacking with the Shadow Clone Jutsu and cheat, Sasuke tried outsmarting him, and Sakura went after Sasuke. They all failed to beat him. By noon Naruto was tied to the post and everyone else sat on the grass. "You guys just don't get it. . . Well, I guess you guys don't have to go back to the Academy." Kakashi told them. "Really does mean we pass!?" Naruto said with high hopes. The others got high hopes too.

"You must quit being a ninja!" Kakashi scolded them. He said they didn't understand teamwork. He sighed "Lucky for you guys Kenji got both of the bells. So I'm giving you guys a second chance." he told them.

**! ! ! **Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were surprised. "That annoying little girl got the bells!?" Sakura thought.

"Wow, Kenji! Way to go, dattebayo!" he praised.

"Yatta!" Kenji cheered.

"How'd she do it!?" Sasuke thought and inwardly gasped as he remembered Kenji's first punch with her left fist heading to Kakashi's open eye while her right hand quickly grasped the bells. "So it was then, huh?" Sasuke thought "She even made it look like she hadn't gotten them!"

"You all have to eat your lunch without feeding Naruto. And if otherwise you know what." Kakashi said and vanished.

Naruto was still tied to a post. "This is no big deal! I could go without food for days!" he shouted but his stomach said otherwise. "Um, Naruto-kun." Kenji said and held out her bento to him. "I'm not hungry so go on ahead." she grinned.

"Here." Sasuke offered his up too.

". . . You can have mine too." Sakura said at last.

"Huh!? Sakura-chan!?" Naruto said surprised.

"I'm on a diet, so it's fine." Sakura told him. Naruto got excited and Kenji lowered her bento in disappointment.

Sakura: 1 Kenji: 0

Naruto was tied up so Sakura gave in to feeding him. Kenji took a kunai knife and stood up, she had it positioned to attack towards Sakura.

**! ! ! **"Kenji! What in the world!?" Naruto screamed at her. Kenji deflected a throwing star that would've knocked Sakura's lunch out of her hands. "We've been had." Kenji said.

"You broke the rules!" Kakashi scolded. He started conjuring up some jutsu.

"If that's the case then that whole lecture about teamwork was unnecessary." Kenji said. "That's right! We're a team now!" Naruto yelled.

"The four of us are one!" Sakura added. The sky cleared up and Kakashi said "You pass!" and that their missions began tomorrow. Kenji fell down face into the grass with spinning eyes. "This guy! . . . One day I'm gonna clobber him!" she thought.

Naruto was kicking his legs. "I'd knew they'd do this! This happens every time, believe it! You guys forgot to untie me!" he hollered.

"Now I have to spend the next couple years with Sakura. I don't stand a chance against her! She's just better!" Kenji thought.

The rest of the team left the two of them behind. A few minutes later Kenji was still on the ground and Naruto was on the post. "Oi, Kenji? Kenji!" he tried to wake her up. "For real?. . . KENJI! WAKEY WAKEY! DATTEBAYO!" he roared and scared Kenji up.

"Aaaagh!" her ears were ringing. Then her headache went away. "Oh! Naruto!" she saw him. "Sorry, I got so distracted I forgot you were still tied up." she apologized and ran over to him. She cut the ropes with her kunai knife. "Yosh! Let's race over to the Ichiraku's!" he announced. Kenji just remembered she took a hit to the gut.

"I can't really eat anything when I'm like this. Running just hurts." she thought.

"Hm? Something wrong?" Naruto noticed.

"I'm sorry! I got an injury so I have to go home. . ." she said with anime tears. "I'm the worst! Turning down Naruto like this!" her subconscious scolded her. Then she felt something perch on her head. Naruto ruffled her hair "That's alright! If you got hurt I can help ya get home. We do live in the same building after all." he told her.

"Huh?" she said confused. Naruto pulled her onto his back. "Hey," she breathed, he carried her piggy-back style. "I-is this ok with you?" she stuttered while blushing.

"Yeah! You're my best friend." he grinned.

"Ok, I'll return the favor soon then." she promised. Naruto carried her into the village it was dusk now.

"Say, Naruto. . ." Kenji spoke. "What would the Hokages tell us if they could speak to us from the plateau?" she asked while looking at the plateau. Naruto also looked at it. "They'd probably say "We're no match for Uzumaki Naruto-sama!" he told her. It made her laugh "Maybe your right, Naruto-kun." she told him.

"Oh yeah, when I become Hokage what will you do?" Naruto asked her.

"Umm . . . Probably become a Jonin or ANBU. I don't know but I will pass the Chunin rank." she answered.

"I see, personally I like the Jonin idea much better. I want to see your face more often, believe it." Naruto said. Kenji widened her eyes and blushed.

"My face?. . ." she thought and he kept on walking. They went inside their apartment and Kenji got down. "Thank you, Naruto. I'll see you tomorrow during our missions!" she left.


	4. Welcome to the world of missions

Welcome to the world of missions

"Oi! Kenji, hurry up!" Sasuke ordered through a transmission and shut off. A creature zoomed through the trees. Followed by Kenji that jumped off the trees, she contacted Sasuke on her communicator. "I know already!" she yelled at him. "Just shut your mouth while I get it!" she said and kept on moving. "Ok, target captured in three, two," she bounced straight off a tree trunk and caught a brown cat while sliding on the ground. "One!"

Her teammates caught up to her. The cat scratched her on the face. "Confirmed red ribbon?" Kakashi asked.

"It's Dora alright." Sasuke answered.

They returned to the cat. . . And the owner was a psycho.

"No wonder why it ran away." Naruto muttered.

"Serves it right!" Kenji growled with crossed arms and a bandaged face.

"I think the cat deserves some credit. I mean your face looks much better bleeding with claw marks." Sakura snidely told her. Kenji got a red vein.

"It's makes me even madder because she's right!" she thought.

"Now the next mission . . . Babysitting and digging potatoes." The third Hokage said.

"Noway! No, no thank you! I want to do a more exciting mission! Gives us something else!" Naruto exclaimed.

"He's got a point . . ." Sasuke thought.

"A more exciting mission . . ." Kenji thought. Kakashi sighed.

"I thought it was about time for him to get fretful . . ." he said.

"You fool! You're still bottom rookie!" Iruka scolded but Naruto kept complaining. The Hokage explained missions while they talked about food. "Very well since you insist." the Hokage said and perked up team 7. "I'll give you a C-rank mission. You'll be body guarding someone." he said.

"Really!? Who? Who? A feudal lord?! Or a princess?!" Naruto said excitedly.

"I'll introduce you. Please come in." The Hokage allowed an old man with Sake to come in. "What's this?! They're just a bunch of squirts." the old man insulted. He started drinking the alcoholic drink .

"Huh?" Naruto reacted.

"Especially you the smallest one with the idiot face. Are you really a ninja?" the drinker asked. "Oh! Who's the smallest?" Naruto asked.

They measured up, Sasuke and Kenji at the same height were the tallest, Sakura in the middle, Naruto was the shortest. Kenji folded her hands. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun." she apologized. Kakashi held Naruto back.

"I'm Tazuna, a bridge builder. You'll be risking life and limb in guarding me to the max until I return to my land and complete my bridge!" the man introduced.

Next thing they know they met at the exit to the village. "Alright! We're off!" Naruto cheered and he threw his arms in the air.

"What're you so excited about?!" Sakura asked.

"You see, I've never left the village before!" he answered eagerly. Kenji looked at the ground. "Ooooii , Kenji!" Sakura brought her out of her thoughts. "What's up with you?You're spacing out." she told her.

"It's just that. . . Just thinking of leaving the village scares me. I have a fear of snakes." she admitted to her.

"What? You're a ninja and you're scared of something with no legs or arms?" Tazuna mocked her.

"Gomen," she dropped her head.

"Don't worry, Kenji! I'll beat anything that comes close to us!" Naruto pounded his right fist. "Just hearing Naruto's reassurance makes me feel safe." Kenji thought and blushed.

**! **Then Kenji looked into the trees and looked shocked. She reached for her kunai holster but Kakashi stopped her. "Don't worry." he told her and she pulled her hand back.

Soon they started walking and talking about the Shinobi nations. Kenji kept clinging to Naruto. "Hey, Kenji. Why are you holding onto me like this?" Naruto asked.

"I-I'm very scared. I really feel like I'm gonna get attacked right now!" she cowered. "Hn, scaredy cat." Sasuke insulted then his collar was grabbed and he was thrown by a strong arm into the air landing on the ground.

"Urusai, Teme!" Kenji yelled at him. Sakura came and chopped her on the head and made a bump. "Ite!" Kenji winced and grabbed her head.

"Don't hurt Sasuke-kun!" Sakura scolded.

"He had it coming!" Kenji yelled. Kakashi came over and blocked the both of them.

"That's enough." he said. Kenji pointed at Sakura.

"She started it! All she ever does is follow Sasuke-teme around like a lost puppy!" She blamed her. "Kenji's yelling at Sakura-chan again. . ." Naruto thought.

"Look out!" Kenji shouted out of the blue and Kakashi instantly pushed her and Sakura away. While they were falling they and everyone else saw Kakashi get sliced by retractable shuriken chains by two Kirigakure ninjas. His remains fell to the ground leaving some people shocked. The two ninjas took off.

One of the ninjas outstretched his claw towards Naruto. Kenji got in the way and extended her palm out to him.

"Shinra Tensei!" she yelled and a powerful force was released from her palm. Quickly sending the ninja back. The other one zoomed passed them. "Darn it! I forgot about the old man!" she yelled in her mind.

Sakura guarded Tazuna followed by Sasuke. By then Kakashi grabbed the ninja by the neck and saved them. "Yo." he said. Naruto turned to the area where Kakashi was supposed to be shredded. "So, he used substitutions." he said.

"That's a relief." Kenji sighed.

"My bad Naruto, I thought you would move. . ." Kakashi apologized and turned to Sakura and Sasuke. "Good job, Sasuke. Sakura, you too. . . Kenji!" he yelled.

**! ! **Kenji jumped in her skin. Kakashi looked at her sternly. "What you did. . ." he had a serious tone. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Kenji cried. "They were gonna hurt Naruto-kun so I. . ." she had everyone staring at her. "I-I-I, I acted before thinking!" she let it out.

"That was brave of you but it was in vain Naruto got scratched with poisonous claws." Kakashi said.

**! **Kenji widened her eyes.

**! **Naruto also widened his eyes. He looked at his bleeding hand and Kenji fell down and dropped her head. She dug her fingers through her hair. "I let Naruto get hurt!" she thought and a sob was released from her throat.

"Maybe that was a bad idea to tell her." Kakashi thought.

"Hn, are you guys hurt? Scaredy cats." Sasuke taunted them. Naruto growled.

"Sasuke!" he yelled. Later they found out their mission was more than they thought it was, it was at least A-ranked. "Hm, Naruto's injured plus Kenji is an ophidiophobe. Maybe we should head back." Kakashi said looking at Kenji who on still on her knees but was paying attention, she dropped her head at the mention of her phobia.

"What's an ophidiophobe?" Naruto asked.

"What are you? Stupid?" Sakura asked. "An ophidiophobe is a person with ophidiophobia, a fear of snakes." she told him.

"Naruto," Kakashi called him "You should probably thank Kenji for saving you." he said. "I-it's fi-" Kenji was interrupted by Naruto stabbing his wound with a kunai knife. "Naruto-kun!" she yelled in worry. Everyone was shocked.

"Why am I so different?! Why's it always me . . . Darn it!" he said in frustration.

"Naruto! what're you doing?!" Sakura shouted seriously.

"I should be getting stronger . . . Here I'm steadily carrying out missions and doing special-skill training by myself every day . . . I'll never get into another situation from which I'll have to be rescued . I'll never be afraid or be a coward . . . I won't lose to Sasuke . . . I'm going to swear on the pain of my left hand! I'll protect you old man . . . With this kunai knife! The mission continues!" he said determined.

"Naruto. It's all well and good to rid yourself of the poisoned blood ,but any more than that and you'll bleed to death." Kakashi told him.

. . . Naruto started sweating. Kakashi zoomed up.

"Things will get hairy if you don't stop the bleeding quick . . . Seriously!" he said.

"Yikes! Argh! No! No! I can't die like this I say!" Naruto started panicking.

"Show me your hand." Kakashi told him. Sakura marched up with her hands on her hips. "Noo! Help me!" Naruto kept on freaking out.

"Naruto! You're really self-abusive , aren't you! That's masochistic!" she said.

"Uruse, forehead." Kenji said and irritated Sakura.

"The wound is already starting to heal." Kakashi thought.

"Hey hey . Am I ok? You looks awfully serious . . ." Naruto asked with a scared face. Kakashi started to bandage the wound. "Well you should be ok." he said.

"Is this the power if the nine tailed fox?" Kakashi wondered.

"But you still owe Kenji a 'thanks'." Kakashi told him.

"Oh," Naruto turned and faced her. "Kenji," he started.

"It's ok, Naruto. Now we're even after all you saved me back then." Kenji told him smiling but it left everyone else clueless.


	5. Step forth into the Land of the Waves

Step forth into the Land of the Waves

Much later . . . It was really misty and they were all in a rowboat. They were close to the bridge and then they finally saw it. "Wow! It's huge!" Naruto exclaimed. The rower told him to be quieter then Kakashi asked Tazuna to tell us about his assailants. Tazuna fessed up and told them they could bail.

"It's fine my cute grandchild turning eight will only cry his heart out and my daughter she'll have a grudge against Konoha ninjas forever. Oh, it's not your fault at all!" Tazuna told them. Kenji smiled at his statement.

"Huh! What?" he asked. Kenji looked out into the sea.

"I wish I had people like that. That care about me . . ." she said calmly and softly. Sakura thought "She's a hard one to figure out."

"Now that Tazuna told us the truth I think you should too." Sasuke said looking at Kenji. "Back there you beat that chunin without touching him." he told her.

**! **Kenji panicked inwardly.

"What jutsu was that?" Sasuke asked her. Everyone looked at her and Kenji just slid down to the floor of the boat.

They kept on going and entered a place where it wasn't so foggy. They went back to walking. Then Naruto jumped in front of us. "There!" he threw a kunai and all of them panicked, Kenji just widened her eyes and sweated. "Ummm, Naruto?" Kenji said.

"Hm, just a mouse." he said cooly.

"Quit tying to show off! There as nothing there in the first place!" Sakura scolded.

"Come now Naruto. Don't use kunai knives recklessly. They're really dangerous." Kakashi told him. Then Naruto threw another kunai and Sakura came up and punched him. This made Kenji mad and she ran up to her. "Chill out! Naruto's only trying to help!" she yelled at Sakura.

"S-someone's really been targeting us the whole time!" Naruto insisted.

"Yeah right! Knock it off you!" Sakura shouted at him.

"Shut up, forehead!" Kenji yelled at her.

Kakashi looked into the bushes and saw that Naruto nearly killed a rabbit. "Naruto! What have you done?!" Sakura blamed him.

"Huh a bunny!" he ran over and snuggled it. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to . . . I'm sorry, Mr. Bunny!" he apologized.

"It's just a rabbit, eh." Tazuna said.

Kenji sweated and depression surrounded her. "I wish I was that bunny right now." she thought. On the inside she was crying.

"That's a snow rabbit. But it's fur shouldn't be white." Kakashi noticed. He was looking around. They were being watched again. "Everyone! Get down!" he ordered.

A giant sword came spinning at them. Everyone was shocked but they ducked and were fine.

"I was too depressed to see that coming, darn it!" Kenji thought. The sword stuck out of a tree and someone was standing on the handle. We looked up. "Is that a demon?!" Kenji asked aloud.

"Yeah, it is." Kakashi answered her.

Naruto was all excited and Kenji stood up. Kakashi identified him as a Jonin level rouge ninja. Naruto ran up to him but Kakashi blocked him. This guy was Kakashi's opponent. Kakashi slowly put his hand in the right side of his headband.

"You guys get in manji formation. Protect Tazuna." Kakashi ordered and lifted up the right side of this headband.

**! **"The Sharingan!?" Kenji thought. Sasuke explained the Sharingan to Naruto. Then it started getting misty again.

"Let's stop talking. I must kill that old man!" Zabuza said.

The Genins all quickly got into the ninja pattern. Zabuza got on the water.

"That's a lot of chakra." Kenji said. Zabuza's talk scared Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto.

"I guess it's safe for me to do this. Release, Rinnegan." Kenji said and her eyes weren't silver anymore. "I can feel the blood lust." she thought. She looked around with her purple ripple resembling eyes. "Now where are you Zabuza?" she thought.

"Sasuke. Don't worry. I'll protect you with my life. I will not allow my comrades to get killed." Kakashi comforted him out of nowhere.

"You were scared?" Kenji asked Sasuke.

"Shaddup." he sassed her.

"Oh, and you called _me_ a scaredy cat!" she said.

Kenji waited, threw her kunai and heard it land in someone's flesh. Then a water clone was behind them and they got separated, Kakashi stabbed it. Zabuza came up and sliced Kakashi with his sword but the Kakashi he stabbed was a water clone too. Kakashi copied him and had him in his hands.

"Don't move. It's over." Kakashi said with a kunai to his neck.

"W-wow!" Naruto admired.

"That should've had my kunai forked in it. It's not bleeding either." Kenji thought as she saw the 'Zabuza' Kakashi had was spotless. "That's not the right one, Kakashi!" Kenji told him. She was right the one Kakashi had a kunai up to was also a water clone. "Brat." Zabuza said.

"That one was a fake too!" Naruto said. Soon they fought with taijutsu and Kakashi was sent flying. The Genins were all shocked he just got kicked away.

"Kakashi Sensei's in the water!?" Kenji thought. "You fool get outta there!" Kenji yelled. Kakashi got trapped in the water prison jutsu. A water clone came out of the water and the mist surrounded them again. "Naruto-kun watch out!" Kenji warned him.

He was kicked into the air and his headband fell off Zabuza stomped on it with his foot. "You three take Tazuna and run! You have no chance against this guy!" Kakashi told them.

Then Sasuke took off. "Sasuke! You bonehead!" Kenji insulted him. She and Sakura saw him get pummeled. "Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted out. Zabuza loomed over Naruto.

**! ! ! ! **Kenji looked shocked and ran up to the water clone. "Kenji!" Sakura yelled. Kenji looked at the clone in the eye and Zabuza got splashed with water. "That brat seems to know everything I'm gonna do." he said and took out a bloody kunai knife from his hip.

With the Genins the mist kept Naruto from seeing her eyes. "Naruto-kun. Remember your promise. . . Right now Tazuna, Sakura, Kakashi, and even Sasuke. . . They're all in danger. Be the hero, please." Kenji told him and held out her hand with his headband to him. "Ninja isn't someone who recklessly risks their life. They're someone who endures and works hard. . . Naruto-kun, I know that's you. To me you're a full fledged ninja." she pep talked him.

It was silent for a minute. But then Naruto put his hand in hers. She smiled and Naruto put his headband on and stood up.

"Hey, you with no brows. Record in your Bingo Book. . . About the man who will one day become the Leaf village's Hokage. Leaf-style ninja. . . Naruto Uzumaki!" he said.

"Sasuke lend me your ear." Naruto said

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"I have a plan." Naruto told him.

"Hn. Are you talking about teamwork?" he asked. Kenji moved out of the way and reset the genjutsu on her eyes.

"What are they. . .?" Kakashi thought.

A large wind shuriken hurled at them Zabuza caught it but then another one came. Zabuza dodged that one too. But the second one was really Naruto transformed he made Zabuza free Kakashi. Zabuza was about to throw the shuriken at Naruto but Kakashi stopped him. Kakashi copied a powerful jutsu with his Sharingan. All of us got splashed. Kakashi hit him with another powerful jutsu later. Then when we all saw him against a tree.

"You are going to die!" Kakashi told him. Two senbons jabbed him in the neck.

**! !**

**! !**

**! ! **

**! ! **

**! !**

**! !**

Naruto, Kenji, Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Tazuna were shocked. A boy threw them and Zabuza collapsed. "You were right. He died." a masked boy said.

Kakashi jumped down onto the ground beside Zabuza. Kakashi felt for a pulse on the neck. "He's definitely dead."

"He's wearing nail polish." Kenji thought.

"I thank you. I've been waiting for the chance to kill Zabuza." he said.

Sakura explained to Naruto about tracker ninja. "This guy. . . Reminds me of myself." Kenji thought as she made eye contact with him.

"What are you?!" Naruto pointed at him. "Hey you!" he yelled angrily.

"Don't worry, Naruto. He's not an enemy." Kakashi told him and Naruto started complaining again. This made Kenji put her hand over her mouth and shut her eyes.

The boy picked Zabuza up. "Your battle is over for now. I must get rid of this corpse. . . Because it contains many secrets. Now then please excuse me." he disappeared and Naruto threw a fit again.

They were planning to rest up at Tazuna's house. He walked up to Kenji "Oi, Kenji can you keep moving?" he asked.

"Yeah." she whispered. Kakashi told them to leave when he collapsed.

"W-what happened?!" Sakura stuttered and they all ran over to him .

"Kakashi Sensei!" Naruto shouted.

"Darn it! He overused his Sharingan!" Kenji said aloud.


	6. Tree climbing training

Tree climbing training

Later they were staying at Tazuna's house. Kakashi was resting on a futon. They all saw that he was awake. "Oh, Sensei's awake!" Naruto exclaimed and Sakura sat next to him. "Come on. Your Sharingan is fantastic," she started.

"And blah, blah blah, blah blah! My Rinnegan is way cooler! And when I use it I don't faint!" Kenji thought.

"S-sorry." Kakashi apologized. Kenji zoned out for most of the conversation. Kakashi explained the Mist's ANBU black ops. "Here's the truth Zabuza is still alive!" Kakashi said.

**! ! ! **Sakura, Naruto, and Kenji were dumbfounded.

"If that's the case then that masked dude tricked us!" Kenji said.

"Yeah, he did." Kakashi said and explained how the masked person is not an ANBU.

"Encountering suspicion the ninja prepares quickly. Hesitation leads to disaster." Every shinobi knows this phrase." Kakashi said and quoted.

"Ok, so the guy's alive and he even has a dopey little minion what do we do?" Kenji asked.

"Yeah, you had a tough time beating him and you even collapsed. A little prep time won't be enough to beat him." Sakura said. Then Kenji's face popped in a little circle below Sakura.

"Alright here's my plan, how 'bout we toss Sakura into the mist and say "Please accept our offering!" It's a win-win." she said. Sakura got a red vein and pushed the circle below her away.

"That's very funny Kenji but no offering up comrades to a rogue ninja ok?" Kakashi told her.

"Ok." she responded.

"I am going to train you we can still be ready, after all you've grown." Kakashi announced proudly. "Kenji's plan is backup." he added making Kenji laugh.

"Hey! I heard that Sensei!" Sakura said.

"It's seems reasonable to me!" a younger voice said. The team turned around to see a small child.

"Hey kid, I was just kidding." Kenji told him.

"Well it doesn't matter after all you're gonna die too." he said.

"Ah, Inari." Tazuna greeted and received a welcoming. Tsunami told Inari to apologize.

"Mom, these people are gonna die." he said flat out.

"Hey brat! Ever heard of a super ninja? That's what I am only better! This Gato is no match for a real hero like me!" Naruto exclaimed.

"There's no such thing as a hero. You're just full of stupid ideas!" Inari insulted.

Kenji slid up on front of him and looking down while flipping a kunai knife. "Listen here you snot nosed brat. When you insult good people like that the Akuma's gonna come. . ." Inari saw a black scratchy figure with slanted red glowing eyes. "And burn kids like you!" she looked at him with her Rinnegan for one second and he ran off crying.

The ninjas looked out of the door frame. "Hehehehehe!" Kenji laughed mischievously.

"Way to go Kenji, where'd ya learn to do it?" Naruto asked.

"It's an old trick my sister taught me." she answered with a grin.

The next thing they know they're back in training.

"So we start training. . ." Kakashi established in crutches.

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted.

"So. . . Before that, let me again explain chakra power for a ninja, from the basics." Kakashi said.

"Again?" Sasuke asked.

"Of course we know about that! Chatora right?" Naruto said.

"It's chakra! Yes, Sakura." Kakashi left the teaching up to Sakura.

"Are you listening Naruto? I'll explain it so you can understand." she started.

She explained chakra.

"She really is smarter than me. . ." Kenji thought in despair. They had to learn to control chakra by climbing trees without hands. Kakashi gave them all kunai to track their progress.

They all started gathering chakra to bottom of their feet and ran to a tree. Kenji was running and she barely made a mark with the knife before skidding down the tree and landing on her back.

"Ouch." she said in pain. Naruto was in the same position as her and Sasuke was on the ground too.

"The difference between Naruto and Sasuke seems about right. Kenji's chakra is great but you might need to release that genjutsu. . ." Kakashi thought.

"This is pretty easy!" Sakura said. They all heard her and stood up.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed.

She made it up to the first branch. Dark clouds surrounded Kenji's head.

"So, what? Sakura's more beautiful, smarter, and more skilled. It's not like it matters, right?" she thought.

"So, it looks like the one with the best control of the chakra is Sakura, the girl. . ." Kakashi concluded.

"Wow! Way to go, Sakura! Just what you'd expect from the girl I set my sights on!" Naruto praised.

He made the dark clouds around Kenji's head start thunder storming.

"I take it back, it matters. Sakura is better than me at everything! I can't even rival her. . ." Kenji thought in despair.

Sakura: 2 Kenji: 0

Of course Sakura wanted Sasuke to notice her. Then Kakashi ticked Naruto and Sasuke off and set their rivalry. Kenji sat up and took a breath in criss cross.

"Sakura may be better but that doesn't mean give up. Even if she's better I can still be a great ninja!" Kenji thought. She stood up and pointed her kunai up at Sakura. "Listen up, girly! I will surpass you! One day we will fight and I will beat you!" Kenji stated.

She ran up the tree and made it at least two inches further. She marked it before falling. They were still training in the afternoon and they ended up all dusty. Sakura was exhausted. Kenji ran up and got close to that spot Sakura got to on the first try.

"Yes! Just a little further!" she inwardly cheered. She extended her kunai when her focus broke. "Shoot!" Naruto darned.

The chakra on her feet disappeared and she fell down to the ground on her back. She started coughing.

"Well, that's gotta hurt." Kakashi commented.

She lifted her chin to see Naruto walking over to Sakura. "Naruto's probably asking for advice. I would do the same if she wasn't a jerk." Kenji thought and sat up.

"Now concentrate. . ." she closed her eyes and chakra dispersed from her body.

"She's releasing all her chakra and slowly focusing it to her feet." Kakashi said looking at her while chakra blew her clothes and hair. The chakra stopped blowing and was glowing at her feet. She ran back up the tree not losing chakra and made a piercing mark into the bark with her knife. She jumped back and skidded a landing on the grass. She looked at the mark, it was where she wanted it to be.

She looked over at Sakura and gave her a thumbs down.


	7. Shinobis are ones who endure!

Shinobis are ones who endure!

After Sakura got cleaned up she got to guard on the bridge in construction. By dusk Naruto, Kenji, and Sasuke were still training. Kenji took a short break when she saw Naruto being a little focused. "I wonder what Sakura told him. . ." she thought as she rested her back against a tree.

Naruto looked like he was getting good vibes. Then Kenji saw Sasuke ruin it. "Hey! Naruto!" he called and Naruto tripped.

**! **Kenji blinked twice and stood up.

"Jeez, what the heck's wrong with you?! Don't interfere while I'm trying to concentrate!" he scolded angrily.

"He's right Sasuke. Breaking concentration is not cool." Kenji said and crossed her arms.

"U-uh . . . Well." Sasuke started.

"Whoa is he blushing!?" Kenji thought.

"What is it!?" Naruto asked.

"Y-you asked Sakura to give you some tips before. . . What did she say to you?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto smirked for a little bit. "I'm not telling." he said flat out.

**! **Sasuke lost his cool.

Later at Tazuna's they were eating meals. Naruto and Sasuke were eating fast! When Kenji was cleaning up they both started at her back.

"Say, Kenji." Naruto called her.

"Yeah?" she asked when she turned her head.

"Exactly how much have you eaten?" he asked. Both Sasuke and Naruto paused their eating contest and looked at her for an answer.

"Um, I'd say this is my tenth serving." she answered. They both were surprised and continued their eating contest. They held up their bowls. "Seconds please!" they said in unison. They scowled at each other as lighting clashed between their foreheads and then they hurled at the same time.

A shiny bead of sweat dropped down the back of Kenji's head. "Um, you guys. I haven't eaten in 3 days so I ate a lot but you guys shouldn't overeat. . ." she told them.

She put her dishes away and started to leave for training. "Hey, Kenji. Take the day off. You'll waste your strength." Kakashi told her.

"Thanks Sensei, but I'm too motivated now." she said and left. She went into the forest and trained there for a bit. She walked to the edge of a tree branch. "Oi! Kenji!" Naruto called her.

**!** She was surprised and lost her balance. She fell off and landed in the water. In the river she jumped up and gasped for air. "Oh suman(sorry), Kenji." Naruto helped her out and she was standing in front of the full moon.

"Doumo (Thanks)." she said and started to walk back to the forest. She shook her head and some water flew off her hair.

Later it was morning and Naruto and Kenji were asleep. Some birds were surrounding them. In that same forest Haku, the kid that saved Zabuza was gathering herbs and approached Naruto upon seeing his headband. He reached down for the neck. . .

"You'll catch a cold if you keep sleeping here." he said and shook Naruto awake.

"Who're you?" he asked. Haku just smiled and Naruto blushed. "Uh. . . Did you wake me up, sis? I mean, what're you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm gathering medicinal herbs." Haku answered.

"Herbs?" Naruto repeated.

"Yes. For healing injuries, sickness and the like." Haku explained and Naruto started helping him.

"You got a lot to do early in the morning, sis. . ." Naruto told him.

"You too. What've you been doing in a place like this so early?" he asked Naruto.

"Training!" Naruto replied proudly.

"What about that girl?" Haku pointed to Kenji who was still asleep.

"Yeah she's training too. That's Kenji, she's my best friend." Naruto told him.

"Kenji huh? She's cute. . ." Haku complimented.

". . . You're right." Naruto agreed. The sun rose higher and shined on them.

"Could it be that. . . you two are ninjas or something? With those headbands that is." Haku asked.

"Is that what I look like? Is it? Yup! I'm a ninja!" Naruto said excitedly.

"No kidding. You're great, aren't you? Why are you training when you're already strong?" Haku asked.

"I want to become even stronger!" Naruto answered, he wanted to prove to Inari that there are heroes in this world.

"Since you have a best friend I'm sure you can understand. . . When you have someone precious to you. That's when you truly become strong." Haku told him.

". . . Yeah, I get that! I know exactly what you're saying!" Naruto said. Haku picked up his basket and turned around.

"Then I guess this is goodbye for now. . . And one more thing. I'm a boy." Haku said and left.

**! ! ! !** Naruto's mind: BOOM!

Then Sasuke walked in. "Oi, Naruto." then he saw Kenji asleep "Is that Kenji?" he asked.

Yeah, that's her." Naruto answered.

Sasuke walked up to her and squatted down. "What kind of powers does she have?" he thought. Kenji tightened her eyelids and then opened them to see Sasuke.

She grabbed his face with a vein on her hand. "Outta my face jerk!" she growled.

Sakura and Kakashi found them and Naruto hung off a branch as a joke but then he fell for real and landed on Kenji. That night Naruto, Kenji, and Sasuke all climbed to the very top.

"Shall we go home?" Sasuke asked.

"Okay!" Naruto said with a grin.

"We did it." Kenji said to them.

"What happened to you guys?" Sakura asked when they got home. Kenji and Sasuke were supporting Naruto with his arms over their shoulders. "We climbed to the very top of the tree, believe it." Naruto said.

"In your face, Sakura! Beat that!" Kenji pointed at her. Sakura scowled.

"Yatta!" Naruto cheered and brought Kenji and Sasuke down with him.

"Oi, Naruto. . ." Kenji said tired.

"You usuratonkachi!" Sasuke insulted him. They sat down at the table resting after using up their chakra. Inari started remembering his past. **Cue Sadness and Sorrow.** He started crying. "Why . . .?" Inari cried.

"Hm? What is it?" Naruto asked and Inari slammed his hands on the table.

"Why do you desperately work so hard until you get like that?! There's no way you'd be a match for Gato's men even if you train! No matter what cool things you say or how much effort you make. . . The weak always lose out. . . Against the truly strong!" Inari cried.

"Oi teme!" Kenji snarled at him.

"Shut up. I'm not like you." Naruto told him.

"Shut up! Looking at you makes me sick! Sticking your nose in even though you know nothing of this land! I'm not like you who's always acting frivolous not knowing one thing about pain!" Inari yelled at him.

Shadows covered Sasuke, Naruto, and Kenji's eyes making Sakura look at them. "So you're just gonna cry all day like the lead in a tragedy? An idiot like you can just cry forever! You crybaby!" Naruto yelled back at him.

"Naruto! That's a bit harsh!" Sakura scolded.

"It's true! Shinobis like us endure our pain and continue to fight. . . But that doesn't give anyone else the right to be whining!" Kenji told her.

Naruto walked off. Inari still cried and he went out on the deck. "Got a minute?" Kakashi asked and sat next to him. "Naruto didn't mean any harm with what he said. . . He's just uncouth, so. . . We heard the story about your father from Tazuna." he said. Like you, Naruto never had a father as a young child. . . Actually he doesn't know either of his parents. Not only that, he didn't have a single friend." he told him.

"What?" Inari replied confused.

"Well, that's not entirely true." Kakashi admitted. "He has one precious companion, that girl who scared you. She was brought to our village alone and no one knows what happened to her family. She's badly scarred so many people in the village are afraid of her. Maybe she knows she relates to Naruto in that way, they're both lonely. . ." he said.


	8. Zabuza returns, see through the mist!

Zabuza returns, see through the mist

The next morning Kakashi, Kenji, Sasuke, and Sakura were heading to the bridge. "Um, Sensei. Do we really have to leave Naruto-kun?" Kenji asked.

"Well, he needs to rest." Kakashi told her. They continued to go to the bridge with Tazuna.

"What the heck is this!?" he exclaimed. Everyone else on the bridge was on the ground knocked out or just beat up. Mist surrounded the bridge.

"Shimatta!" Kenji darned.

"You three! They're coming!" Kakashi warned. They all took out kunais and held them up in defense.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Kakashi. I see you've got those brats with you as always." Zabuza said. They were surrounded by duplicates of him.

"Water clones!" Kenji exclaimed and Sasuke demolished them. Then their attackers showed themselves.

"That nail polish. . ." Kenji thought. "You in the fake mask!" Kenji pointed her kunai at Haku. "Fight me!" she challenged.

"Hmph! That brat was able to see through the water clones. Not bad." Zabuza acknowledged.

"What?! I saw it first!" Kenji thought.

"I was right that boy is a comrade of Zabuza. Seeing how he's standing with him and all." Kakashi said.

"I'll take him down." Sasuke said.

"Race ya!" Kenji said and charged after Haku.

**! !** "That speed!" Zabuza thought. Kenji's kunai clashed with Haku's senbon. They pulled their weapons back and clashed again and again after changing their positions. Kenji pulled out another kunai.

The outcome was different this time with two knives she even scratched him and left bleeding cuts on his arms. Then she landed a punch smack down in the middle of his mask. Her fist left a crack and Haku flew back.

"Haku was pushed back!? Is that even possible?" Zabuza thought.

"It seems like my skills surpass yours." Kenji said and spun her knives. Haku stood up and Kenji and Sasuke ran to him. Sasuke attacked and missed. He ended up kicking Kenji in the cheek.

She got mad at him. "Sasuke! What the heck are you doing!? Don't interfere!" she yelled at him.

"You got in my way, the least you could do is back off!" Sasuke retorted. Kenji pointed one of her kunais at his face making him flinch. "I don't wanna hear that from a prick like you!" she roared.

"Those two just won't work." Kakashi said as he sweated.

Then Haku spun rapidly enough to make a whirlwind and fought with Sasuke for a little bit. Then Haku gave them a warning and started using his free hand to prepare a jutsu.

"One handed seals!" Kenji thought and pushed Sasuke out of the way. He was saved from the bunch of needles. She landed on her feet behind him. "From now on you owe me one." she said.

"Hn!" Sasuke said and got up. Kenji ran towards Haku with her fist ready.

"You're wide open!" she said and vanished.

"She disappeared!" Haku exclaimed and he was kicked back to Zabuza.

"You shouldn't ignore your opponent like that!" Kenji told Haku.

"There's something about this girl I don't like!" Zabuza thought. Kenji got into a stance with her knives still in hand.

"Come!" she said strongly.

**Fade to black**

"Come!" she said strongly.

"I don't think you know what you're doing." Haku told her.

"A fight's a fight!" Kenji yelled.

"You're not running away from us." Sasuke said next to her. A mirror started forming on the bridge. Kenji gasped and threw one of her kunais at Haku but a mirror got in the way. "Darn it! It's too late!" she said. Soon they were surrounded by icy mirrors with an image of Haku on them.

"Now then. . . I'll start. I'll show you my true speed!" Haku proclaimed.

Then Kenji and Sasuke lost their kunais. They both got scratched and mauled at by countless needles and all they could do was groan in pain. By the time it stopped they were on their hands and knees bleeding.

"Great, I'm stuck in this jutsu with you of all people!" Kenji complained.

"That's what's bothering you!?" Sasuke said in disbelief.

"I have no choice now, if I don't do this it's goodbye world for the both of us." Kenji thought. She raised her head and showed Haku her true eyes. They were purple with a black ripple design.

**!** "You! Your eyes!" Haku gasped. Kenji stood back up, she had scratches that were bleeding. She took in a deep breath and exhaled it out her mouth, her breath was visible. "What are you?" Haku asked.

"Atashi wa Konoha shinobi da." (I am a Leaf shinobi) she answered. "He's hiding in one of these mirrors, but I can see him with my Rinnegan. Then I just have to drag him out. . . And in that case. . ." a long large black rod slid out of her right sleeve. She spun it in front of her and the sound it made was fast and soft. Then she stopped spinning it and grasped it in her fist.

Haku started using his needles on them again. They groaned and shielded their faces. Kenji opened her right eye and hoisted her right arm back. "There you are!" she said and threw her straight, black rod at a mirror.

It stabbed Haku through his shoulder and the needles stopped scratching them. "Kenji, what-?" Sasuke started.

"That's two now, Sasuke!" she interrupted him and fell down on her knees. "I only managed to injure him. I don't know where to hit to kill him but I need to force him to stop this jutsu!" Kenji thought.

"How did she hit him!? No, how did she see him!?" Sasuke thought. He was panting while grasping his arm.

"Sasuke," Kenji started.

"What?" he asked.

"If we don't make it out here alive, I just want you to know that I hate you." she told him.

**! **Sasuke got a red vein. "Tch! Whatever, tomboy!" he snarled. Then a smoke bomb went off outside the mirrors. There was silence. . .

"Who's that?" Kenji asked.

"A goofball who's showing off." Sasuke answered.

**?** Kenji didn't get it.

"There's our #1 unpredictable, noisy ninja." Kakashi said.

"Naruto Uzumaki. Is finally here!" Naruto announced.


	9. Naruto joins the fight

Naruto joins the fight

Naruto just got to the bridge and started bragging. Sasuke and Kenji looked out.

"Sorry! The hero always shows up late then kicks butt!" Naruto exclaimed.

"He's big on talk!" Sasuke thought.

"What an idiot! If he had stayed hidden then maybe he could've pulled off a surprise attack." Kakashi thought.

"Quite an entrance," Kenji said. Naruto put his hands in the clone seal.

"Kage Bunshin no-" he started then Zabuza threw throwing stars at him.

"Naruto-kun!" Kenji said.

"Get out of the way Naruto!" Kakashi ordered. Then senbons stopped the stars.

**!**

**!**

**!**

**!**

**!**

Kakashi, Tazuna, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kenji were surprised. "Naruto, what are you thinking showing your jutsu to the enemy!" Kakashi yelled. "You're supposed to distract your enemy first, deception is the shinobi's weapon." he said. "You threw yourself into battle and made yourself a human target!" he yelled.

"Aaah! I'm sorry! I just wanted to help!" Naruto apologized.

"This guy. . . Why did he save Naruto?" Kenji thought.

"Haku, what's with you!?" Zabuza asked him.

"Zabuza, leave this kid to me. Please let me fight this battle my way." Haku asked.

"His way?" Kenji repeated.

She reached out her hand and she removed the chakra rod from Haku's shoulder. Haku groaned as the blade was leaving his shoulder. Kenji grasped it and pinned it into the ground. She stood up and Sasuke threw a kunai but Haku dodged it .

"You two," Haku turned to them.

"Kenji, Sasuke! So that's where they are!" Naruto thought.

"I haven't forgotten about you, not for an instant. I was sure you'd accept defeat. But it turns out you're just so stubborn." Haku said.

He stepped back in the mirrors. Kenji and Sasuke were trapped in the jutsu again and were hit with those senbons. They groaned and fell back. "Grr!" Kenji growled and stood right back up. She made hand seals starting with the snake seal.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Sasuke asked her. She kept on making signs.

"These mirrors are completely made of ice!" she said and stopped on the tiger seal. "So. . ." she spread her feet. "Katon! Ryuuka no jutsu!" (Fire style: Dragon Fire jutsu). She blasted a stream of fire from her mouth at one of the mirrors.

"A fire jutsu!?" Sasuke exclaimed. But the mirror barely melted.

"Argh! Not enough, we need another attack." Kenji said.

"The best hope we have is to trust Naruto to attack from the outside. These mirrors attack what's on the inside not the outside. If Naruto hits where it's defenseless maybe we can break out." Sasuke said.

"I guess you're right. . . Now that Naruto's here he can help us get out." Kenji agreed.

"Yo! I came to save you guys." Naruto said right next to them.

**! ! ! **"Na!" (Wha!) Kenji dropped her mouth open and was shocked colorless. Sasuke was surprised too.

"Ugh, Naruto. . ." Kakashi said hopelessly.

"You're a total loser! Why would you get yourself trapped in here with us!?" Sasuke said.

"What's that supposed to mean!? I came in here to help you guys!" Naruto said.

"Naruto, I know you mean well. But please think." Kenji pleaded. Sasuke started making hand signs. "Hang on! I already did that! It's not gonna work! It won't do the trick I tell ya!" Kenji yelled at him.

"Yeah, Sasuke!" Naruto sided with her.

"Shaddup! Kenji's jutsus are down right poor we can't rely on them!" Sasuke said.

"Say what now!?" Kenji screamed offended by his statement.

"Katon! Goukakyu no jutsu!" (Fire style: Fireball jutsu) he blew fire from his mouth like Kenji did and the mirrors looked untouched.

"THAT DIDN'T DO ANYTHING AT ALL!" Naruto yelled.

"YOU PRICK!" Kenji furiously punched him in the skull. "QUIT COPYING MY IDEAS! AND DON'T CALL MY SKILLS POOR WHEN YOU'RE JUST A JERK WITH A BAD ATTITUDE!" she roared.

"YOU'RE SAYING MY ATTITUDE IS BAD! EARLIER YOU SAID YOU HATED ME AS IF THEY WERE LAST WORDS!" Sasuke shouted.

"YOUR ATTITUDE _IS_ BAD! BELIEVE IT!" Naruto screamed at him. The arguing went outside the mirrors.

"THAT ALONE IS ENOUGH REASON TO HATE YOU!" Kenji also yelled at Sasuke.

"URUSAI! EVERYTHING YOU DO IS FAULTY YOU CAN JUST HATE YOURSELF!" Sasuke remarked to her.

"SAYS THE GUY WHO TRIED TO MELT THE ICE MIRRORS AFTER IT FAILED ALREADY!" Naruto blamed him.

Kakashi saw and heard the yelling coming from the mirrors. "Sasuke and Kenji were bad enough together, those three are just bringing trouble to one another." Kakashi thought. "Those brats of yours are almost funny, Kakashi." Zabuza said.

"They're doomed." Sakura said.

Naruto, Kenji, and Sasuke got blasted back. "Aaaaaaah!" screamed in the air they all landed on the ground with a thud. "Argh!" they yelled when they fell.

"What are they!? Are they clones!? How do we find the real one!?" Naruto wondered aloud.

"You won't be able to tell." Haku said.

"You're wrong!" Kenji yelled at him.

**! **Haku gasped.

"You're not the only one with the Kekkei Genkai!" Kenji yelled.

"So that's what it is. Your face tells me many things but I cannot let you escape. . ." Haku said.

"At least one of us can see through this! As long as that stands we'll get out! I know we will I still have my dream to be Hokage!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Dreams. . ." Haku said and remembered his childhood as an outcast. "It was not my desire to be a shinobi, it's painful. I don't want to kill you but if you advance, I will have no choice. I will kill the kindness in my own heart,"

"and fully embrace the shinobi way. . ." Kenji said with him. "For the sake of our dreams. . ." she said.

"For a precious person. . ." Haku said afterward.

"We'll fight to protect them as a shinobi!" they said. "To the death!" they said. Haku held up a senbon and Kenji pulled her chakra rod out of the ground.


	10. The awakened Sharingan

The awakened Sharingan

Kenji pulled her chakra rod out of the ground. Naruto made the clone seal. "No don't!" Sasuke tried to stop him.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto made a large group of shadow clones and tried attacking the mirrors. They were all destroyed in almost a split second. Naruto fell back down.

"Naruto!" Kenji ran over to him. "Daijobou?" (Are you ok?)

"Yeah," he answered and sat up. "Kuso! How are we gonna find the real one!?" he asked.

"Sorry, I can see the real one but unfortunately I'm not that effective against light speed." she apologized and helped him up. She looked to her right at the real Haku then he zoomed to another mirror and Kenji turned her head. Then Haku kept zooming from mirror to mirror and Kenji's eyes followed.

"She really can see me, maybe this is also why she was able to see through Zabuza's hidden mist jutsu." Haku thought. He started the needle attack again and they groaned, Naruto and Kenji fell down.

"Sasuke, the blood. . ." Kenji told Sasuke and he noticed Haku left behind trails of blood.

"His blood is left all over the place. How!?" Sasuke thought then he remembered when Kenji injured him. "So, it's the blood from that wound. . ." he thought.

Kenji planted her hand into the ground stood up, she tried to follow Haku's speed and she extended her chakra rod and cut into his flesh producing more blood. "Gotcha!" she said and Haku raced back into a mirror. He grasped his bleeding wound.

"I have you now." Sasuke thought and put his fingers around his mouth. He blew fire from his mouth to the ice mirror. Then a smeared line came from the mirror.

"That was close. At this rate they'll discover me." Haku thought. The needles started attacking Naruto and Kenji. "Ahhhhh!" they painfully groaned.

Sasuke picked up one of the senbon needles from the ground and used the needle to protect himself from the attack. "You're reading my movements, I must end you!" Haku said and held up his needles. Naruto, Sasuke, and Kenji all got hit by needles, it was sticking out of their bodies.

"Kuso!" Naruto said and Kenji jerked her head around to see him lift himself off his elbows and knees. He fell flat and Kenji slightly gasped. "This is bad Naruto's reached his limit." she thought.

"That idiot. . ." Sasuke said. Haku threw his needles at him but Sasuke just dodged.

"What!?" Haku said. Sasuke looked up and he had an incomplete Sharingan.

"So he awakened it. . ." Kenji thought.

"So he also wields the Kekkei Genkai. . . He can already read my movements, this jutsu uses up a lot of chakra. Sooner or later he'll prevail. So, I'll trap him!" Haku thought.

**! ! ! **Kenji widened her eyes. "He's coming for Naruto!" she screamed in her mind and dropped her weapon out of shock. Haku jumped out of the mirror.

"What!?" Sasuke said. Naruto was struggling to stand up.

"No!" Kenji yelled and got in front of Naruto with her hand out as Haku was coming. Time slowed down Haku was about throw his senbons, Naruto was standing up weakly, and Kenji had her hand out towards Haku. "I'm sorry, Kenji." he said to her.

**! ! **She gasped. "Hlgh!" Kenji choked she lifted her hand up towards him. "Almighty push." she murmured. Haku was pushed away crashing through a mirror in the process. He landed back on the bridge. Soon all the mirrors shattered, Sasuke's Sharingan went away and he stared shocked at Kenji.

"Kck!. . . Gck!" she choked and pulled the needles out of the front of her neck. Blood spilled onto the floor. Naruto's eyes were wavering, Kenji fell back and Naruto caught her around her shoulders. At the same time her headband untied and clanged to the ground.

"Kenji!" Sasuke ran over. "Baka ga teme!?" (Are you an idiot!?) Sasuke asked rudely. She coughed, her voice was weak. **Cue Sadness and Sorrow.**

"When I decided I would become a shinobi the adults and Jonins greatly disputed my choice. They even complained to the Hokage that he should've killed me. . . Everyone hated me, everyone except you." she looked at Naruto. "It was one of my darkest memories to learn that I wasn't meaningful to anyone. That I didn't have anyone to call my comrade. But you saved me from the darkness, from my loneliness. . . You're my hero. . ." she smiled slightly then she fell on her knees and dropped dead on her side. The headband on the floor lay as dead as her.

Naruto sat beside her. "Ha,ha that's funny. . ." he said. He grabbed her arm and shook her. "Hey c'mon joke's over now y'know." he said but she didn't respond.

Sasuke pressed his fingers on a spot on her neck. "She's definitely gone, Naruto." he said.

"Why? You knew, you knew! That I didn't want you to die!" Naruto yelled. It was silent as Haku stood up and walked over to them.

"She protected someone precious to her. . ." Haku said clearly. "She is truly strong, jumping right in front of an attack for someone important. Is this the first time you've seen a comrade die? This is the path of the shinobi." Haku said and stopped in his steps in front of them.

"Shut up!" Naruto told him. "I was also like that, alone." he said and steam surrounded him.

"What's going on!?" Sasuke thought. Naruto gritted his teeth and twitched in anger.

"It's unforgivable!" he said and bright red chakra swirled around him in patterns. He looked up and had red eye with a slit pupil and sharp fangs. "I'll kill you!" he threatened.

"What is this chakra. . ." Haku said and took two steps back. "Impossible. The chakra is taking form. And what terrible chakra!" he said. It formed into the Kyuubi or the nine tailed fox. The needles in Naruto's body fell out and his wounds healed while forming claws. "The wounds on his hand are regenerating. . . Who is this boy!?" he said.

"Is this really Naruto!?" Sasuke thought. "His chakra is dangerously powerful! Is this because Kenji died!?" he thought.

Naruto's appearance changed. Haku was armed with his weapons and Naruto charged at him on all fours.


	11. The broken seal and past

The broken seal and past

Naruto's appearance changed. Haku was armed with his weapons and Naruto charged at him on all fours. Haku threw his senbon needles at him but Naruto's chakra alone deflected it. "That's impossible!" Haku said.

"Where's this power coming from?" Sasuke thought. "It's entirely different from before!" he thought.

Naruto grabbed Haku's wrist and punched him away (Face shot!). Haku was sent rolling and as he was standing up his mask that was already cracked shattered and it's pieces fell to the ground as Naruto came running toward him again. . .

Naruto's fist was half a foot away from Haku's unmasked face. "You're the guy from before." Naruto said remembering the person he met in the forest.

"Why did you stop?" Haku asked.

**? **Naruto flinched. **  
**

"I killed an important nakama of yours, but you can't kill me?" Haku asked. Naruto looked back at Kenji's body. He scowled and clenched his fist. "Kuso!" he punched Haku in the face and he fell down again. Haku started to push himself up with his hands and he coughed out blood onto the bridge.

"Where did that energy of yours go? You can't defeat me like that." Haku said standing up. He wiped his chin. "I thought Kenji was your closest friend." he said. He fixed his posture and talked directly to Naruto. "There are those who have the wrong idea. They fail to defeat an enemy that needs to be defeated, show them mercy instead, and decide not to take his life. To me, that's not mercy at all." Haku said. "Do you know the pain of living without a dream? The feeling of not being needed by anyone. . ." he asked.

"What are you trying to say?" Naruto asked him.

"Zabuza-san does not need a weak shinobi. You stole my reason to exist." Haku told him.

"Why? Why do you fight for a guy like that?" Naruto asked him. "He gets money from bad guys and does evil things! Is that no-brow really the only important person you have?!" he exclaimed.

"I had people that were important to me a long time ago. My parents. . ." he remembered the faces of his family when they were happy. "I was born in a small village of the Country of the Water, where snow piled up deep. All we did was farm, and we were poor, but my mother and father were happy with it. I was happy, they were really kind parents." Then it all phased back to the present. "But when I first took notice of my surroundings, something happened." Haku stopped.

"Something? What happened?" Naruto asked. Haku lifted his hand to his face and looked at his own blood.

"This blood. . ." he said.

"Blood?" Naruto repeated. "So. . So what happened!?" he asked.

"My father killed my mother, then he tried to kill me." Haku answered.

"Eh?" Naruto uttered more shocked.

"Kekkei Genkai or bloodline traits are very powerful but in this world it seems like everything has a painful downside. Traits passed down through blood from parent to child, grandparent to grandchild. My country especially hated the Kekkei Genkai and anyone who wielded it. There were wars, soon everyone with the Kekkei Genkai were forced to hide it. Otherwise death would await them." Haku explained. "That includes Kenji who hid her eyes with Genjutsu, they're stuck on her face forever like a scar that won't fade. . ." he compared. "That boy probably had it rough too. Those with the Kekkei Genkai were feared. My mother possessed the Kekkei Genkai. She kept it a secret and married my father," he said. "and must've believed that an ordinary life would last a while. No, forever." he said.

He remembered when he first discovered his Kekkei Genkai, at first he found it magnificent until he was punished for having it. "But then my father found out about our secret." he said and remembered when his father attacked him.

"When I came to, I realized I killed my own father." he said. "And at the time I thought of myself as. . . No, I _had_ to think of myself as being. . . I realized that that was the most painful thing one could feel." Haku said.

"The most painful thing that one could feel?" Naruto questioned.

"The feeling that you are not need by anyone in this world." Haku answered.

**! ! ! **"He's the same as me, dattebayo." Naruto said inwardly.

"Kenji was the same, I could tell by looking at her. I know why you two were so important to each other. You both wanted to gain admiration by skill, you had similar dreams. . . For me, that was only a little different. When someone who accepts you from the bottom of their heart appears, that person should become the most important person to you. Zabuza knew I had the Kekkei Genkai and raised me. He wanted this ability that everyone hated. . . . . . I was happy. . ." Haku's eyes changed. He was smiling at his peaceful memory.

Then his soft eyes and happy smile left his face. "I'm sorry, Zabuza, I couldn't be the tool you wished me to be. . ." Haku approached Naruto making him step back. "Naruto-kun, please. . . Kill me." Haku asked.

**! ! **Naruto barely moved. "Why are you hesitating? Isn't that the only way you can avenge Kenji's life?" Haku told him. Naruto moved back away from him.

"I can't believe that stupid story dattebayo! Weapon! Tool! You call a person like that important!? You're okay with that!?" Naruto shouted.

"Is that wrong?" Haku asked.

"Eh?" Naruto said.

"What's wrong with that?" Haku pointed out, Naruto couldn't find an argument for that.

"Zabuza had hopes for me. He needed me. . . . But I have lost the purpose that made me, me." a tear escaped from his eyes. "Zabuza will no longer need me." he said calmly. Naruto was very depressed at this. "That's why I am asking you. Now hurry!" he said.


	12. A tool known as Shinobi

A tool known as Shinobi

"Now hurry!" Haku said wanting his end.

"I don't understand! Is remaining strong the only reason you have for staying on this world!? . . . You could have made people recognize you other than fighting." Naruto said.

"The day I met you in the forest, I felt that you were like me. You should understand. I'm sorry that I have to soil to your hands." Haku apologized.

"Is that, is that the only way?" Naruto asked him.

"Hai." he answered. Naruto gritted his teeth.

"If I had met you somewhere else, we might have been friends." he said and pulled out a kunai from his holster. He screamed a battle cry and ran towards Haku with his knife.

**! ! **Haku sensed that Zabuza was in danger and caught Naruto's wrist. "Gomennasai, Naruto-kun." Haku apologized again and made one handed seals. "I can't die yet!" he said and disappeared into cold air.

Haku got in the way of Kakashi's Chidori and blood spilled onto the floor. His body was bloody and he died. Naruto found him and figured out what happened for himself.

Zabuza took his Kubikiribōchō sword and started to swing it. "He plans to slice me along with this child?" Kakashi said and dodged his sword while getting Haku's body away from him too.

"Grr, that's a dirty move!" Naruto growled.

"Naruto! Stand back and watch!" Kakashi told him and he closed Haku's eyes. "This is my battle!" Kakashi said scowling.

Sasuke was on his knees next to Kenji. He had taken all the needles out. "Looks like he died. . ." Sasuke said talking about Haku. Then blood was spit out from Kenji's mouth.

**! **Sasuke looked at her, she was coughing. "She's alive!?" he thought. Naruto noticed too when he heard coughing.

"Kenji!" he ran over to them.

"Jeez you had us scared, you tomboy." Sasuke said.

"But how? I thought you got hit in the neck." Naruto asked.

"I did." Kenji answered and sat up. "That guy really didn't mean to kill me. . . He said my name too." she said.

"Yeah, I told him that one. Come on, you look just as beat up as Sasuke." Naruto said and picked up her headband. He bent on one knee and held it out to her. Kenji smiled and took it. She wrapped it underneath the right part of her bangs and tied a knot at the back of her head.

She stood up followed by Sasuke. "There, you look way cooler like this dattebayo!" Naruto said. Kenji saw past him and saw Haku's body.

"Kakashi you don't have time to look away!" Zabuza said and attack him. But Kakashi just kicked him back. Naruto, Kenji, and Sasuke saw it and started walking towards the scene.

They stopped a little far from Kakashi and Zabuza. Kenji looked at Haku's body. "Y'know, even though he beat me up with a bunch of needles and knocked me out cold. I really don't think he was a bad guy." Kenji said.

"Yeah. . ." Naruto agreed.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted. "You're okay!" she cheered. Naruto, Kenji, and Sasuke all reacted the same way.

"Sakura-chan. . ." Naruto said feeling rejected.

"That prissy little nerd!" Kenji growled.

"Hn, how annoying." Sasuke complained. Kakashi stabbed two kunais into Zabuza's now useless arm.

"Ne ne, Sasuke-kun! Tell me how you got Naruto and Kenji out!" Sakura asked.

Kenji got a vein on her head and clenched her fist in front of her. "Kora teme! _I'm_ the one who got _them_ out!" she shouted.

"Why, why can't I keep up with him!?" Zabuza thought frustratedly. "Kuso!" he said and charged at Kakashi again. Kakashi just punched him upside the jaw like it was nothing and Zabuza stumbled back.

Kakashi stepped up to him and punched him spinning. Zabuza was panting and Kakashi held the back of his neck. "In the state you are in now, you can't win." he said.

"What did you say. . ." Zabuza snarled.

"You don't understand the true meaning of being strong." Kakashi told him cooly. Zabuza sweated in anxiety.

"Now then, let's see what happened." a new voice said.

Kakashi spun two kunai knives on his fingers and grasped them in his fist. "Sayonara, demon." he said and brought the knives around when Zabuza swung his sword. Kakashi stabbed the knives into Zabuza's good arm.

Kakashi jumped back and Zabuza's sword slid on the ground. Naruto uttered sounds as he watched with Sasuke and Kenji. Sakura and Tazuna were also speechless. "Now you can't use your arms. You can't form any seals anymore." Kakashi told him.

Then everyone sensed a presence and looked ahead. "Looks like you got beaten pretty badly." a businessman with a cane said. "I'm disappointed, Zabuza." he said standing in front of what looked like an army of goons. Naruto, Kenji, and Sasuke stood in line shocked.

"That's. . ." Naruto said.

"That can't be right?" Kenji added.

"That's the guy behind everything, Gato." Sasuke answered.

"Hmph, apparently the 'Demon' couldn't finish the job. The only reason I hired an exiled ninja like you is because it would cost a lot of money. If you ninja had just killed each other, it would have saved me trouble and money." Gato said.

"Kakashi, sorry but the battle ends here." Zabuza told him. "Since I don't have a reason to kill Tazuna, I have lost the reason to fight you." he said.

"Yeah, you're right." Kakashi agreed.

"Now, that old man Tazuna and the ones aiding him will die!" Gato announced. Sakura gasped and her pupils shrunk.

**!** Naruto, Kenji, and Sasuke started glaring daggers and 3 kunai knives where pulled out at the same time. The three of them appeared in front of Sakura and Tazuna armed with kunai knives. Sakura gasped again while looking at their backs.

"If you bastards come any closer!" Naruto threatened.

"We'll attack with no mercy!" Kenji finished.


	13. When the snow falls

When the snow falls

Naruto, Kenji, and Sasuke stood in front of Tazuna and Sakura. She looked at them as they protected them. "Guys! I like that you have the backbone to stand up to them. But you all need to back up a bit." Kakashi said.

They moved away starting with Tazuna and Sakura. Naruto, Kenji, and Sasuke followed and backed away. Gato walked forwards towards Haku's corpse. "Now he squeezed my arm so hard it broke." Gato stamped his cane on Haku's face. "Hm, he's already dead." Gato said.

"You know even though that guy jabbed me in the neck with needles, I don't feel any beef towards him. He didn't seem like a bad person, aitsu. . ." Kenji said.

"That's right! You got some nerve, jerk!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Oi, teme!" Kenji looked towards Zabuza. "Why aren't you doing' anything!? He was your nakama wasn't he?" she asked.

"Shut up kid, Haku's already dead." Zabuza told her.

"Eh? That's all you have to say?" Kenji asked.

"You really don't feel anything about what he did?!" Naruto asked.

"I merely used him just like Gato used me. I wanted his abilities not him, we shinobi are just tools. I have no regrets." Zabuza answered.

"How. . . How can anyone talk like that!?" Kenji raised her voice. "D'you think anyone would willingly follow a cold and murderous jerk like you!?" she asked.

"Stop it Kenji. He's no longer our enemy." Kakashi said.

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled. "He's still _my_ enemy!" he shouted. "You really don't feel anything?. . . You really really don't feel anything!? When a person becomes as strong as you, do they start to think like that? He liked you y'know. He really liked you. He threw his life away for you. He couldn't even see his own dream. . . Dying a tool. . ." he cried.

Kenji was looking down. "It's horrible. . . Shinobi are human too even we can't help but feel pain." she said. **Cue Sadness and Sorrow.**

"You kids. . ." Zabuza said and Naruto and Kenji raised their heads. They saw tears fall onto the floor in front of him. "Don't say anymore. . ." he told them hoarsely. "Haku, not only did he hurt his heart to fight for me but for you guys too. I know. He was too kind. I'm glad we could fight you as our final opponents." Zabuza started tearing the bandages around his nose and mouth.

"It's just like you said. . . Shinobi are human too. They might not be able to become a tool without emotions." he said. "I lose. . . Kid, hand me your kunai." he requested.

Naruto lifted his teary face and pulled a kunai out of his holster. "Here." he said and threw it into the air. Zabuza caught it between his teeth.

Gato panicked and ran behind his goons. "Hey! Kill those guys!" he ordered as he cowered behind the crowd.

"No you don't!" Kenji thought and located him with her sight. She opened up her palm a little. "Almighty pull." she said quietly and Gato was forced right out of the crowd.

"What!? This is impossible I didn't even move!" he thought.

Zabuza ran for him and stabbed him with the kunai he had in his mouth. Kenji flicked her wrist to the right and Gato was thrown into the water. Zabuza turned around and got stabbed in the back. But he stilled kept on moving, towards Haku and his body failed him and he fell down.

"That rogue ninja killed our meal ticket! Let's kill him!" one of Gato's workers said and the rest agreed. Naruto growled.

"This isn't good, I've already used up so much chakra." Kakashi said. Kenji walked up and stood in front of them.

"Leave the Land of the Waves. You have no purpose now and you all are clearly powerless against us." Kenji told them.

The people who were once threatening to kill them were frightened when they made eye contact with her and they ran away. The villagers came and cheered that their home was free again. Naruto walked up to Kenji, he gave her a victorious grin with a wink and positioned his fist. Kenji fist pumped with him.

Kakashi walked over to Zabuza. "Looks like it's over." he said.

"Yeah." Kakashi answered.

"Kakashi, I have one favor to ask." Zabuza said.

"What?" Kakashi asked.

"I want to see his face. . ." he answered.

"Sure." Kakashi answered and covered his Sharingan. He took the weapons out of Zabuza's back and picked him up. When Kakashi started walking it started snowing.

Naruto and Kenji looked up. "It's just like back then. . ." she thought as an image of a child collapsed in the snow appeared in her mind.

Kakashi set Zabuza down next to Haku. The light shone through the clouds on them and Kenji started crying. Naruto also cried. "He. . . He was born in a village where a lot of snow fell." he sobbed.

"Is that a fact? He was pure white like the snow. . . You can go there, Zabuza, together." Kakashi said and they watched Zabuza die with Haku in the snow.

Later they were at Zabuza and Haku's grave. "I've decided that I won't hide my eyes anymore. No more illusions from now on I'm gonna show what I really look like." Kenji said.

"I don't like that "whole ninja's purpose as a tool" thing!" Naruto said.

"Me neither." Kenji agreed.

"Do you think like that too, Kakashi?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, no. That's why ninja unconsciously suffer from that idea." Kakashi answered. "Like Zabuza and that boy." he said.

Kenji stared at the sunset, "One day I'm gonna establish my own nindō and abide by it forever. . ." she said.

"I'll also follow my own "nindō"!" Naruto proclaimed. "I'm going to run straight down the path where I'm not going to regret anything 'ttebayo!" he said.

In the morning the team was standing in front of the whole village. "We've completed the bridge thanks to you but we're going to miss you." Tazuna told them. Kenji crossed her arms.

"Don't forget, we're gonna come visit you guys again one day." she said.

"Yeah, believe it!" Naruto said.

"Ya hear that Inari?" Kenji looked at him.

**! **Inari got a chill. "We're gonna come back, ok?" she teased and scared him. She laughed and turned around. "Take care, kid." she said.

The team was walking down the bridge. "Yooooo~sh!" Naruto cheered. "Once I get home, I'm going to have Iruka-sensei treat me to ramen to celebrate the completion of this mission. Also, I'm going to make Konohamaru listen to my tale of bravery." Naruto said.

"Ne Kenji." Sakura said getting her attention. "You look so hideous that it's funny!" Sakura laughed.

Kenji sulked in her own little clouds again. "That tomboy really hasn't changed." Sasuke thought.

Naruto turned to Kenji. "Kenji," he said bringing her out of her sulking. "I think your eyes look cool, believe it!" Naruto complimented her. She widened her eyes and blushed.

"No one's ever said anything nice about my eyes. . . Naruto." she thought.


	14. The start of the Chunin exams!

The start of the chunin exams!

Squad 7 met at a bridge, Naruto and Kenji said good morning to Sakura and then saw Sasuke leaning on the railing.

"Hmph!" They all said and Kenji crossed her arms and Naruto put his hands on his hips. They turned away from Sasuke and he turned away from them.

"They're doing it again. . . They've been acting weird since we got back from the Land of the Waves. I feel awkward now." Sakura thought.

They were stuck waiting there for a while. . . "Yo, everybody. Ohayo. I got lost today, so. . ." Kakashi told them.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto, Kenji, and Sakura yelled in unison. Naruto started asking Kakashi if there were any missions that were exciting. Sasuke moved up in front of Kenji and glared at her.

Kenji scowled darkly. "Move." she said rudely and Sakura turned around after hearing a splash and Kenji had her arms on the rail. "Remember this the next time you get in my face you pansy." she said to him.

Sasuke moved his bangs away from his eye and glared at her threateningly. "Awwwww, don't cry Sasuke-chan. Maybe the next time you choke and screw up it won't be as bad." she said.

Sakura's aura started to get violent and Kakashi stepped in. "Alright calm down you guys. Sasuke give Kenji her personal space, Kenji don't be so violent towards your comrades, and Sakura you too." Kakashi said then he turned ahead and started to lead them. "Now, we have a mission. Let's go." he said.

"ROGER!" Naruto shouted and they started walking.

"Oi, Kenji. If you ever do anything like that to Sasuke-kun again, I'll end you." Sakura murmured.

"Ahahaha~! Whaddaya gonna do? Put on your little cute bow and stand there with a kunai? Haha~!" Kenji laughed. "Y'know, I used to think I so crummy compared to you in every way but I found out that you're just a helpless, spoiled brat. You're so wimpy and you _suck_ at being a shinobi." she told Sakura who started to squeeze her clothing. "You may look better than me but I'm way tougher and stronger." Kenji said.

"You two, stop it already we're about do our mission so act decent." Kakashi told them.

"Haaaii~!" Kenji responded. They were in a woman's backyard weeding her plants. Naruto rolled up his sleeves determined to outdo Sasuke. He started to rip plants out of the ground, soon he had them piled up to his own height.

"Hey you." the woman said.

"Oh! Obaa-chan, I'm done pulling out all the weeds." Naruto said proudly. Then he noticed she started fidgeting in anger. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Those aren't weeds. . . Those are herbs I've been cultivating!" she shouted. Kenji closed and covered her eyes and the screen started shaking.

"Itaaaaaaiiiii!" Naruto exclaimed. Next they were cleaning up litter in a river as Kakashi read his book. Then Naruto slipped making Sasuke and Sakura look back at him. "Someone help!" he struggled and a pale hand caught his hand. He looked up and saw Kenji, she helped him up.

Then they were walking dogs Naruto was struggling to walk a big dog and he was dragged into a trap field. When the missions were finally over Kenji and Sasuke were supporting Naruto by the shoulders. "Man, you always need help." Sasuke taunted.

"Zazuge!" Naruto attacked him with rage.

"Kora baka Naruto!" Sakura charged at him until a fist bruised her forehead and knocked her down. She was on the floor all dusty and she looked up to see Kenji with crossed arms.

"I won't let you attack Naruto." she said seriously and Sakura got a red vein on her temple.

"Shannero!" she shouted and she started fist fighting Kenji. Kakashi looked at the fights unamused and squatted down. He put his palm on the ground and the Genins got zapped with lightning chakra. They all lay flat on the road smoking a little with their clothes covered in ash. "Your teamwork's not looking sharp." Kakashi said. "I'm going to do some work, maybe you guys can clean up your acts." he said and left

Sasuke stood up and looked down on his teammates. Naruto made sharp growling sounds and stood on one knee, Kenji sat with her legs bent next to her she coughed out smoke, and Sakura was struggling to push off the ground with her hands.

Sasuke glared at Kenji and started walking away. "I just can't beat that tomboy!" he thought.

"Kora Sasuke! Get back here ya jerk!" Naruto shouted and Sasuke stopped. "You're always sticking your nose into everything!" he blamed. Sasuke turned around.

"If you're so upset then become stronger than me, usuratonkachi." Sasuke said.

**! **Naruto's feel changed. Then a short and thick rod hit Sasuke's headband with a loud CLANG. "Ngh!" he stepped back and put his hand over his forehead, the vibration from the metal plate gave him a headache. The rod flew into Kenji's palm and she started tossing it into the air and catching it.

"Shut up. Because Naruto," she closed her eyes and caught her rod in her fist. "Is much stronger than you think!" she said and a loud crack noise came from her fist. Two pieces of her rod dropped to the ground.

Sasuke scowled and walked away. Sakura followed him.

"Tch! Naruto-kun, let's go." Kenji said.

"Eh? What about Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Sakura's just gonna follow Sasuke all day, let's ditch her." she said.

Then a box moved up to them and shiny beads of sweat appeared on their heads. "Kenji, you see that too right?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah." she answered.

"There's no such thing a rock with two perfect holes in it!" Naruto pointed at it.

"It's very obvious." Kenji added, then the box exploded in gunpowder. Three kids were coughing on the road. They introduced themselves as Moegi, Udon, and Konohamaru.

Naruto had his arms crossed behind him and Kenji crossed her arms in front of her. "Just as I thought it was the three of you." Naruto said. "Why do the three of you have goggles on?" he asked and the kids smiled.

"We copied the old you." Konohamaru answered.

"Oh?" Naruto said.

"Kawaii." Kenji commented.

"Huh? Nii-chan who's she?" Konohamaru asked.

"Oh this is my best friend, Kenji." Naruto introduced her. "Ja, I'm gonna go train." he said.

"Eeehhhhh!? You said you were gonna play ninja with us!" Konohamaru said.

"Ne," Kenji squatted down to their level. "I'll play ninja with you guys if you want." she offered.

"What's the point in ninja playing Ninja?" Sakura floated into their conversation, she started at Naruto.

"N-nani?" Naruto stuttered. Konohamaru looked back in forth between Kenji and Sakura.

"Nii-chan which one of them is your, this?" he stuck his pinkie finger up.

**!** "Eh!?" Kenji broke out in a blush.

"Chigau!" Sakura yelled and punched Naruto into the fence.

"Nii-chan!" Konohamaru worried. Moegi and Udon ran to Naruto. "You ugly girl! Ugly!" Konohamaru shouted.

Sakura got mad and Kenji punched her away. "Guys, let's make a run for it!" she told them.

"Hai!" the kids said in unison and started running. Kenji quickly wrapped Naruto's arm around her shoulder and ran behind them. Sakura came racing after them.

"SHANNERO!" she shouted.

"I told ya we should've ditched her!" Kenji shouted. Konohamaru didn't pay attention to where he was going and ran into someone. An guy older guy with a Sunagakure headband.

"Ite. . ." he said and everyone stopped the chase. He grabbed Konohamaru by the scarf. **  
**

"Konohamaru!" Naruto said worried still being supported. Kenji blinked twice, let go of Naruto's arm, and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Put him down right now!" she demanded.

"Or what?" the sand ninja asked.

"Ja. . ." she said and walked up to him. She punched him hard in the arm making him drop Konohamaru.

"Why you-!" he said and then the sand shinobis looked into her eyes.

"Kankuro. . . Let's get out of here!" the kunoichi said in fear and they ran away. "Who knew Konoha shinobi would be monsters. . ." she thought.

Kenji aimed throwing stars at them, she was about to throw them. "Yamero." a voice said and she slightly gasped, they all looked into a tree. A boy with the kanji sign for "love" on his forehead was upside down from a tree branch.

"If you throw those. . . I'll kill you!" he said. He scared Naruto, Sakura, and the kids.

"Fine." Kenji said and put her shurikens away. "This guy's on a whole different level." she thought.

The stranger disappeared in sand and appeared on the ground in front of them. "Konohamaru, step back please." Kenji asked and Konohamaru obeyed. "Were you associated with those two? If so, you got some nerve messing with our village!" she said and crossed her arms. The wind started blowing and making the leaves fall all around.

"They were being disgraceful. We only came here for the Chunin Shiken." he informed her.

"Chunin Shiken!?" Kenji thought and her eyebrow twitched. "I see." she answered.

"This seems kind of intense. . ." Naruto thought.

"You're interesting, I'd like to know your name." the sand ninja said. Kenji started walking towards him and offered a hand shake. He accepted the offer and shook hands with her.

"Atashi wa Senju Kenji, Konoha no shinobi." (I'm Kenji Senju, a leaf shinobi) she introduced herself. "Kimi?" she asked for his name.

"Sabaku no Gaara." he answered and they broke hands. He turned his back on them and left via sand.

Kenji looked at her hand and Naruto ran up to her. "What was up with that!?" he asked and noticed what Kenji was looking at. "Sand?" he said seeing that there was sand in her hand.

"That guy has a crazy large amount of chakra." she said.

"How do you know?" Naruto asked.

"I saw it, his chakra network system." she answered. Moegi ran up and hugged her. "Eh?Cho-" she started.

"Nee-chan sugoi! You were so cool!" Moegi praised.

"Ah, arigato Kenji nee-chan." Konohamaru thanked her.

At first she didn't know how to respond but then she smiled and squatted down again. "No problem." she answered. "Is this what having a younger sibling feels like?" she thought.


	15. Powerful new rivals

Powerful new rivals

Naruto, Kenji, and Sakura were with Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon. "Three more in the tree huh?" Kenji thought. "You guys should go home now. I don't think it's so safe right now." she told the kids.

Once they left Kenji's pupils widened and she got a better look at the three man squad in the tree. "Those headbands what hidden village is that?" she asked in her mind. "I don't like em!" she thought.

The following morning Squad 7 was waiting for their Sensei again. Then he finally came with a new excuse. "Hello, gentlemen. Today I got lost on the path of life." he said.

"A lie!" Naruto, Kenji, and Sakura pointed out. The team lined up in front of him and he held up his index finger in front of his mouth. "I'll get to the point. I recommended you all to the Chunin selection exam, so." he handed out four sheets of parchment to them. "Here, take these applications." he said.

"Chunin Shiken?" Sakura asked.

"It's what that Gaara dude and those other two guys are doing." Kenji said.

"However, the recommendation does not force you to take it." Kakashi said. "You can decide if you want to take it or not." he explained.

"Yatta! Kakashi-sensei daisuki da!" (Translation for me is awkward) Naruto cheered and jumped on him with his arms around his neck.

"Cut it out, get off me!" he got Naruto off and handed him his application. "Only those who wish to take it are to sign the applications, and five days after that, get to school by 3 PM and go to room 301. That is all." he explained and handed out the rest of the applications.

When Kenji got hers she looked at it for a little bit and remembered something from her past. A man and woman in front of her, dead. Her eyes were covered by shadows and her lip was twitching. "From then on I vowed that I get much stronger. I'm definitely taking these exams." she thought. She squeezed the parchment in her fist and ran away.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked.

"Choukyou!" (Training!) she answered and left.

"Ore mo!" (Me too!) Naruto said and also left.

"What's up with those two?" Sakura asked.

"Looks like they're full of energy." Kakashi said. In the evening a lot of foreign Genins entered the village for the Chunin exams.

The next morning Naruto walked up to Konohamaru and his friends. "Naruto nii-chan! Let's play together!" Konohamaru asked excited.

"Sure, I don't have any missions today so I'll play with you." Naruto said.

"Yatta!" the kids cheered. Then a foreign ninja appeared behind them and took Moegi away.

"Kuso! Konohamaru go get help from the closest training ground!" Naruto said and took off pursing the culprit.

"G-got it!" Konohamaru stuttered. "Iku ze, Udon!" he said and they both jumped off.

Kenji had four kunais in front of her, she focused on them and threw them into the tree in front of her. "I can move objects with my mind, easier if I use my hands though." she said.

"Kenji nee-chan!" Konohamaru called and Kenji turned her head.

"Konohamaru?" she asked seeing him and Udon running to her. They stopped nearby her.

"Some crazy rain ninja took Moegi!" he told her.

"Moegi was taken!?" she asked. "Let's hurry!" she said seriously.

"Right!" the young kids agreed.

"That's not happening, I won't let you interfere with my comrade's plan." a different voice said.

**! ! ! **The three turned around to see another rain ninja. "Comrade? What're you planning!?" Kenji asked.

"If you don't want that kid to die, hand over the Scroll of Sealing." the foreign ninja demanded.

Kenji stepped back alarmed. "The Scroll of Sealing!?" she thought. The older ninja took out shurikens and threw them at Kenji. She fell back on the grass.

"Nee-chan!" Udon worried.

"Kenji nee-chan!" Konohamaru yelled and then she turned out to be a log.

**? ?** They were confused. "Substitution!" the foreigner said.

"Hey! Old geezer!" Kenji's voice yelled and they all looked up.

"Nee-chan!" Konohamaru yelled relieved. She bent her knees in a stance and made the hand seals tiger, ox, dog, rabbit, and snake.

"The Scroll of Sealing belongs to us! Fuuton: Daitoppa!" (Wind style: Great Breakthrough!) she yelled and blasted a strong gust of wind to him and beat him. "Now." she turned to the forest and looked through the trees with her Rinnegan. She found Naruto pursuing another ninja. "There!" she said.

Naruto was running after him and finally stopped on the ground. "Oi oi, you fat old man! What are you trying to do with Moegi?" Naruto pointed at him.

"What am I going to do?" he repeated and held a kunai dangerously close to her.

**! **Naruto noticed it. Then he got kicked from behind, Moegi looked at who kicked him. Kenji was a few feet off the ground with her left foot in his back. "Ninja tactic #1: Sneak attack!" she said and landed on the ground.

The ninja face-planted a short distance from Naruto. "Yosh!" he said and ran over to Moegi and cut the ropes. Konohamaru and Udon also appeared.

"So Iruka Sensei was the one who ran the preliminary. Jeez all that just because we're rookies." Kenji thought then she saw the kids line up in front of her and Naruto. "Hm?" she asked.

"Huh?" Naruto asked when he noticed.

"Arigato gozaimasu!" they thanked.

"Eh?" Naruto and Kenji questioned.

"Good luck for the Chunin exams!" Moegi said.

"Thanks guys." Naruto said and he and Kenji left waving to them.

A new day started Squad 7 minus Sakura were waiting outside the Academy. Then Sakura finally showed up. "Yo." Kenji greeted.

"Sakura-chan! You're late, 'ttebayo." Naruto said.

"Yeah, don't tell me you're actually picking up on Kakashi's tardy habit." Kenji said.

"Gomen." Sakura apologized. "Ohayo, Sasuke-kun. . ."

"Yeah." Sasuke responded.

"How 'bout we get going. I'm ready to become a Chunin right now." Kenji said and started walking.

"Yeah! I'm pumped up!" Naruto shouted and walked next to her.

"You're annoying, usuratonkachi you too o'tempa masume." Sasuke said walking with his hands in his pockets.

"Uruse Sasuke!" Naruto said. Sakura looked at their backs, they were walking in a line, Naruto was on the right, Kenji in the middle, and Sasuke was on the left.

They walked into the Academy and saw a crowd. Especially two people blocking the way. "What's wrong with sifting out those who aren't going to pass anyway?" one of them said.

"Then what if we take you out first." the two of them stepped back and saw Kenji behind them.

"When did you-" they asked.

"Pure stealth." she answered.

"I will pass." Sasuke said and stepped up. "Also, undo this field of Genjutsu." he said.

"What he's saying is we need to get to the third floor." Kenji explained.

"You noticed?" one of the guards asked.

"Sakura, how about you? You should've noticed first. Your analyzation skills and Genjutsu know-how have improved a lot." Sasuke acknowledged.

"Sasuke-kun, arigato. Of course, I've already noticed it. Because this is the second floor." Sakura explained.

"Yeah!" Naruto said.

"Right." Kenji agreed.

"You're pretty good. But just being able to detect isn't enough. . ." one of the guards said and aimed a kick towards Sasuke. He was ready to kick back when another Genin intercepted it and stopped both attacks.

Then his teammates walked up to him. "Oi, you broke your promise. You're the one who didn't want to gather attention by doing something that stands out." a guy with no pupils in his eyes said. Kenji noticed him.

"This guy. . .! So there are people like _him_ in this exam!" she thought.

"But. . ." the person who stopped the fight said and looked eager towards Sakura.

"She must be why. . ." their kunoichi said.

He approached Sakura. "Boku no namae wa Rock Lee." he introduced. "You're Sakura-san right?" he said correctly.

"Eh?" Sakura uttered.

"Let's go out together! I will protect you until I die!" he confessed with a thumbs up.

"Heee~hh?" Kenji said interested and crossed her arms. She also smiled and blushed.

"No way. . . " Sakura rejected flatly.

"What?" Lee's excitement turned into the results of rejection.

"Oooooh! That's gotta hurt right there." Kenji sympathized.

"You're way too "unique" for my tastes." Sakura said. Lee leaned against the wall in despair.

Lee's teammate with the the long hair approached Kenji. "You, you're that creep everyone talks about." he said. Kenji got a red vein on her head.

"This guy!" she growled and grabbed his collar. "Listen you girly looking jerk! My taijutsu is way better than your lame attitude. And unless you wanna get your hands cut off you gotta shut up!" she growled.

"You really can't help being hideous can you?" he said.

"Why I oughta!" she and yelled and an arm ringed her neck.

"Let's go, o'tempa masume." Sasuke said and dragged her away.

"Lemme go! I'm gonna kick his teeth in!" she yelled.

"Oi Naruto help me out here." Sasuke said. He and Naruto dragged a resisting Kenji up the stairs. "Things have gotten very interesting." Sasuke thought.


	16. Sasuke vs Rock Lee

Sasuke vs Rock Lee

Kenji was stamping her foot into a stone pillar. "Grr! It always gets to me how annoying it is when jerks like him call me creepy!" she yelled and cracked the pillar.

"She's blowing off steam." Sakura said.

"Who cares? That tomboy's just gonna break it until she calms down." Sasuke said.

"If I get the chance I'm gonna give him a beatdown! Just because he's older doesn't mean he gets ta say whatever the heck he wants! He's taking advantage of my kindness!" she yelled.

"Oi, you with the sharp eyes." a voice said from above.

"Huh?" Naruto and Kenji said.

**!** Sakura was shocked.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked.

"Will you fight me right here, right now?" Lee asked.

"Fight you right here right now?" Sasuke repeated.

"Hai." Lee said and jumped down from the upper floor. "My name is Rock Lee. You're supposed to identify yourself before you ask for someone else's name, right. . . Uchiha Sasuke-kun." he said.

"So you know my name." Sasuke said.

"He's getting a lot of attention." Kenji said with her arms crossed again.

"Grr!" Naruto was clenching his fist. "Sasuke teme!" he growled clenching a fist.

"I would like to fight you." Lee challenged. "I would like to see how my moves will do against a descendent of a genius clan." he reasoned.

Naruto and Kenji both got red veins. "Yeah right. That pansy, a genius? I don't believe it." Kenji said.

"It's all about Sasuke again! Kuso! Kuso!" Naruto growled.

"Also. . ." he added and turned towards Sakura. She was practically shivering, Lee got an instant blush. "Sakura-san, love." he repeated with no shame.

"Iyyaaaaahhh!" she rejected again, in fact she was creeped out. "I hate those eyebrows! Your hairstyle, bushy eyebrows, and everything about you is too unique for me!" she said.

"You're an angel." Lee said and blew a kiss. Sakura frantically dodged it. "Very nice. But how about this." he sent a lot more and Sakura dodged even more frantic.

"Stop throwing weird things at me! I had to dodge those like my life depended on it!" Sakura yelled.

Lee's confidence went down. "You don't need to avoid them that much. . ." he said.

"So you're challenging me knowing my name is Uchiha? I'm sorry to say this but you're ignorant." Sasuke said. "Do you want to see what this name of Uchiha is capable of, gejimayu?" he threatened.

"Please." Lee said and got in his stance. "I'm lucky. I get to fight the number one rookie this early. And I will prove something to you, Guy-Sensei." he thought.

"I like the look in his eyes. This'll be good." Kenji thought.

"Matte!" Naruto said and got his team's attention. **Cue Bad situation** "I'll fight the bushy brows guy, 'ttebayo." he said.

"Chotto, anta. . ." Sakura whispered and Naruto stepped up.

"Don't worry, it'll only take five minutes dattebayo." he said.

"You're not the one I want to fight, it's Uchiha." Lee insisted.

"Geez, everyone's annoying me with this "Sasuke, Sasuke" thing 'ttebayo!" he complained and ran towards Lee. He had a punch ready but Lee just pushed his fist away and Kenji gasped.

**! **Naruto looked back midair. He placed his hands on the floor and spun his leg around in a kick. "Kuso!" Lee tilted his head and dodged it. Lee swung his leg on the ground and broke Naruto's handstand. "Konoha senpu!" he said and Naruto spun rapidly on the ground into the wall.

**! **"Naruto!" Kenji came running to him.

"He's strong." Sakura thought. Lee stood back up in his stance.

"I will declare this now. You cannot defeat me." he said.

"Oi Naruto!" Kenji said tapping her hand on his face. "Dameda, he's out cold." she thought.

"Because, I am the strongest of Konoha Genins right now." Lee said.

"Interesting, I accept." Sasuke said. Sakura looked at the clock

"Hey pansy, you realize we only got 30 minutes left before we can't turn in the applications do ya?" Kenji asked.

"Don't worry, it'll only take five minutes." Sasuke said and ran towards Lee. Sasuke tried to punch him and missed.

"Nani!?" he thought and Lee appeared behind him.

"Konoha Senpu!" Lee released a bunch of high and low kicks that Sasuke couldn't dodge or guard. He got kicked in the face and went into the air. He slid on the floor.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said.

"He kicked through that guard. This guy's taijutsu is the best I've seen." Kenji thought. "Any normal person would mistake that for ninjutsu or genjutsu. But my eyes can see the truth." she thought.

Lee was good enough to force Sasuke to use his Sharingan. "I'm going to prove that hard work surpasses genius." Lee said and was stopped by a summoning turtle. Naruto woke up and Sasuke was beaten.

Naruto and Kenji saw Lee being scolded. "Is that Gejimayu's sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Nope, it's definitely not his Sensei." Kenji said and they walked up to Sakura and Sasuke.

A Jonin appeared on top of the turtle. "You guys are in the spring time of your life aren't you?" he said in a pose.

**! ! ! ! **Squad seven was shocked. "An even more intense guy has appeared!" Naruto exclaimed. They were left stuttering or speechless.

"This is the first time I've seen such a thing. . ." Naruto said.

"Y-yeah. . ." Kenji agreed. Lee got a red vein and turned around.

"Kora! Don't make fun of Guy-sensei!" Lee yelled at them. Naruto also got a vein.

"The hell I won't! We don't know how to react because of all these weird things!" Naruto shouted back.

"What'd you say. . .?!" Lee growled.

"Cut it out Lee." his Sensei said and he obeyed. "Kono. . . Bakero!" he punched him in the face.

**! ! ! ! **Squad 7 was shocked again. They had to watch them "live the moment".

"Ohhh!" Naruto uttered.

"Aggh!" Sakura said disgusted.

"I gotta wash my eyes. . ." Kenji said.

"I lost to a guy like him. . ." Sasuke said. They were about to leave when the team stopped them.

"You four, is Kakashi-sensei doing well?" Guy asked.

"You know Kakashi?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't just know him. . . People call us, eternal rivals." Guy answered.

"That sounds so fake!" Naruto, Kenji, and Sakura shouted.

"How rude! Guy-sensei is really. . ." Lee insisted. Guy appeared behind them and they turned around.

"Let me just tell you that I'm stronger than Kakashi." he said.

"He better than _Kakashi_!? Chikusho! He's not bluffing!" Sasuke squeezed his fist. Guy released Lee's bandage, he started to wrap his hand.

**! ! **Naruto and Kenji both widened their eyes. "Naruto. . . Did you see that?" she whispered.**  
**

"Yeah." he answered.

Guy and the summoning turtle disappeared. "Sasuke-kun. . . Let me say this before I go. To be honest, I came here to test my skills. I lied a while ago. The strongest of the Konoha Genins is on my team." Lee admitted.

Kenji squeezed her fist. "Strongest Konoha Genin my behind!" she yelled and pointed at Lee. "Oi, gejimayu. Tell your strongest_ sleazeball _that if I get the chance I'm gonna crush him!" she yelled.

"Got it." Lee said formally and left.

"Tch!" Kenji gritted her teeth and crossed her arms.

Sasuke was furious. "Sasuke-kun. . ." Sakura sympathized.

"Huh!" Naruto turned and crossed his arms behind him. "Looks like the Uchiha clan isn't so great after all." he insulted.

"Naruto!" Sakura scolded.

"Uruse! Next time I'll slaughter him!" Sasuke said.

"Usotsuke!" Kenji said and everyone turned to her. They looked at the back of her head. "Sasuke, how much you relied on your clan's name and downcast talent is nothing to how hard that guy trained." she told him.

"Yeah, you saw his hands right?" Naruto asked. "He trained more than you. That's all there is to it." he said.

Kenji turned around and saw Sasuke fidgeting. "I guess you'll always be a pansy." Kenji said. "Let's go, I want to test my skills too. There've been a lot of people I'm willing to fight, I'm not letting your sulking stop me." she said.

"Yeah!" Naruto said.

"Alright, let's go." Sasuke said and team 7 walked away.

"There it is again. . ." Sakura said looking at their backs.


	17. The first exam: Let's cheat!

The first exam: Let's cheat!

"Hey! I'll race you guys to the room 'ttebayo!" Naruto said with a wink.

"You're so immature!" Sakura insulted.

"Ok!" Kenji ageed.

"Whatever." Sasuke answered.

"Go!" Naruto said and took off.

"Sayonara pansy!" Kenji also took off. Sasuke started running ditching Sakura.

Sasuke ran next to Kenji and Naruto turned around to them. "Take this!" he said.

"A smoke bomb!" Kenji thought and Naruto threw it. Kenji jumped away while Sasuke blocked his face with his arm. Sasuke got hit with the smoke bomb and Kenji landed with her feet on the wall. She straightened her knees and pushed off the wall. She landed next to Naruto and kept running.

"Matte!" Sasuke yelled running out of the smoke. He jumped and tackled Naruto and Kenji. "WhaaaH!" The three of them started crashing and rolling of the wooden floor.

"Give me a break!" Sakura said and sweated.

The three stopped at Kakashi's feet. "Kora Sasuke!" Naruto yelled.

"What the heck was that for, pansy?!" Kenji asked.

"Looks like they all came. . ." Kakashi said seeing Sakura. "I was positive these three were gonna take the exams so they already have enough to take the exams even without Sakura." he thought.

The three got up and dusted themselves off. "Yo, Sensei!" Naruto said.

"Well, now that you're all here. Good luck, I'm proud of you guys, my team." he said and the four ninjas went in. The nine rookies met each other again, the last time they were together like this was at the Academy. Their unique personalities clashed and they made a little scene.

Then a Genin years older than them walked up to them. "Oi, you guys. I would keep it down if I were you just looked around." he said. The rookies got a good look at the area, they were receiving glares from all over the room. The Genin introduced himself as Yakushi Kabuto a ninja who had taken the exams six times already.

"Does that mean you know a lot about these exams?" Sakura asked.

"Kind of." Kabuto answered.

"I don't trust this guy. . ." Kenji thought with her arms crossed. "Get lost, megane." she said.

"Hey Kenji, that's rude!" Sakura scolded.

"Kenji?" Kabuto said and took out a stack of cards. "These are ninja info cards. Information burned into them and coded with chakra." he explained and set them down. "I spent four whole years gathering information for the exam. There are 200 of them, I'll take you for example." he gestured toward Kenji and she widened her eyes a little.

Kabuto lay one card flat out on the floor and decoded it. "Senju Kenji, age 12 a rookie. You live up to that name well, says here your Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu are extraordinary." he said.

**! **Sasuke's attention was pricked. "Apparently you're a descendant of some very important people like-"

"That's enough!" Kabuto was interrupted by her. "Last chance, scram right now!" she scolded as she pointed him away.

Kabuto's eyes were covered by the light reflecting off his glasses lens. "Well good luck, rookies." he said as he walked away.

"Someone like him has information on probably all of us, I don't like it." Kenji thought. Naruto started to get discouraged so he faced all the people in the room. "My name's Uzumaki Naruto! I won't lose to any of you! Got it!?" he shouted and felt better.

Then the proctors appeared and seated the Genins randomly for a written exam. The lead proctor explained that getting caught cheating will fail you and that if one out of three people fail the whole team says goodbye.

**! !** Sasuke's hair raised.

"What'd you say!?" Sakura shouted.

"That's bad!" Naruto thought.

Kenji got chills, Sasuke and Sakura were intensely glaring at her. "They're pressuring me!" she thought.

_"You better not let us down!" _Kenji heard them say with their glares.

"Naruto. . ." Kenji whispered right next to her.

"Yeah?" he said quietly.

"Let's do our best." she said.

"Hm? That's right!" Naruto thought motivated again.

"Start!" Ibiki started the exam.

"Everything's fine. ." Sakura thought. "We actually have four people even if Naruto fails Kenji can fix everything." she thought.

Kenji held the exam sheet close to her face. "Ok I'll just read through this. . ." she thought. She looked at it from top to bottom and started sweating bullets in her position. . . "I don't know how to answer anything on here!" she thought and face planted on the desk.

Sakura sweated. "Maybe she's an idiot after all. . ." she thought.

Kenji lifted her head and rolled her eyes to look at Naruto. He was grasping his head with both hands in panic. "Naruto's having a tough time too." she said in her mind and pressed her fist on her temple. "Think think think! The only thing I can do to pass is. . . Is cheat. . ." she concluded. "Changing my priority! I'll have to be careful if I get caught I fail. I can only think of one person who for sure has the answers. And that's Sakura! But how can I get answers from her. . ." she asked herself.

**!** Then she realized something. "That's right! I can use this!" she thought and closed her eyes.

"Sharingan!" Sasuke's Sharingan appeared in his eyes.

"Rinnegan!" Kenji's black pupils widened to the first ring.

"Byakugan!" Neji opened his Byakugan.

Those three had their special eyes activated and in use. Kenji looked way behind her at Sakura's paper. "I knew it, she's got all the answers." she said and worked rapidly. Soon she had her test all ready. "I'll put a Genjutsu on it so no one can copy it." she thought and altered her paper to look blank. "Yosh!" she thought and smiled slightly.

Then the 45 minutes they had to answer 9 questions was up and Ibiki stopped the test. "Kai." Kenji released the Genjutsu.

Ibiki gave the Genins a choice to quit the exams because if they answered the tenth question wrong they wouldn't be allowed to take the Chunin exams ever again. If one person quits their teammates leave with them.

"Screw that! It's only been the first exam no way I'm giving up before the good parts!" Kenji thought.

Naruto thought hardly about the risk, he wanted to become Hokage so badly so his existence would be acknowledged. He raised his hand. . .

Kenji gasped. "Usoda. . ." she thought.

Then Naruto slammed his hand on the desk. "Screw you! I'm not gonna run away! I'll take the problem. Even if I become a Genin forever, I'm going to become the Hokage no matter what anyway 'ttbayo!" he announced and stood up. "I'm not scared!" he yelled and sat down stubbornly.

Kenji sighed in relief. "Yokatta." she said.

"I will ask one more time. This is the choice that will impact your life. If you want to quit, now is the chance." Ibiki said.

"I won't go back on my word." Naruto said. "That's my nindo!" he exclaimed.

"Everyone here. . . Passes!" Ibiki said. He explained the purpose of gathering information and how helpful it will be as a Chunin. He also said that as a Chunin there will be unavoidable risks that only strongly determined people will take.

Naruto cheered in his seat. Then something shot in through the window, a banner was hung by kunai knives set up by a Jonin. "What the?!" Naruto said aloud.

"Everybody, there's no time to be happy. I am the second examiner, Mitarashi Anko. Let's move on to the next exam. FOLLOW ME!" she pumped her fist in the air.

Kenji smiled. "She reminds me of Naruto." she thought.

"I'm going to make more than half of the teams fail in the next exam." Anko said.

"Fail more than half? . . ." Sakura gasped.

"Now I'm hyped up, so long written tests!" Kenji thought.

"I will explain the details tomorrow. We'll go somewhere else, so ask your Jonin teachers about the rally point and time. That is all. Dismissed." Anko told them.


	18. Oneshot

**Oneshot. This is just for fun! You don't have to read this if you don't want to. (For those of you who're confused, a oneshot is just a romantic side story).**

**If you do wanna read it enjoy! :D**

* * *

Konoha was getting some light snow showers, Team 7 was in a cold training field. They were dressed pretty much the same except for Sakura who was wearing about 3 layers, pink earmuffs, and a red scarf.

"Well that's enough for today." Kakashi said and Sakura sighed in exhaustion.

"Ugh! I'm worn out!" she sighed.

"Well now that training is done, today is December 25 so. . ." Kakashi said.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed. She took out a metal tin and held it out to him. "Here, there are cookies inside. I made them myself." she said. Sasuke stayed quiet and took the tin. "Kyaaa!" Sakura squealed and squeezed her gloved hands close to her chest.

Naruto and Kenji approached her. "Sakura-chan! I got you this super cute bunny!" Naruto said and handed her a plushy.

"I got this for you." Kenji said and handed her a thermo. "Don't worry it's only tea, I brewed it so I know nothing's wrong with it." she said and Sakura took both gifts.

"Domo." she thanked.

"Naruto, I got you this wallet." Kenji said and handed him an empty wallet that looked like a toad (*cough cough* Gama-chan). "It looks much cuter when it's stuffed." she said and Naruto took it.

"Thank you." he said. Then they both turned to Sasuke.

**? **Sasuke was clueless right now. "Here Sasuke, I'm sure you'll love it!" Kenji said and Naruto handed him a box.

"Now I'm curious." Sasuke thought and opened it. Colored flash powder exploded into the air and all over his face. Sasuke was uttering shocked sounds and Sakura had her mouth wide open.

On the inside of the box it said 'In your face!'.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Naruto and Kenji bursted out laughing, even Kakashi was amused. Sasuke got a red vein.

_BAM BAM!_

"YOU TWO WERE COLLABORATING ON THIS WEREN'T YOU!?" Sasuke shouted at them with a red vein. They were both on the snow grasping their heads, they each had a hematoma.

Kenji stood still rubbing her head. "Well see ya. I'm going home, itai. . ." she said slightly in pain and she left.

Sakura was drinking from the thermo. "Hey this is really good. Where'd she learn to brew this?" Sakura was impressed.

"Did any of you realize she got nothing?" Kakashi asked.

"I-I totally forgot. . ." Sakura said.

"Me too. . ." Naruto said and Kakashi sighed.

The sun went down and then it was morning. Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto met up.

"You also got called here?" Sasuke asked Naruto.

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei should be here too. . ." Sakura said. They ended up waiting an hour.

"Yo. Sorry I was busy thinking about the universe." Kakashi said.

"You're late!" Sakura and Naruto yelled.

"Yeah yeah, so Sakura why'd you call us here?" Kakashi asked.

"And how come Kenji isn't here?" Naruto asked.

"Ok, I felt bad about Kenji not getting anything. So I did a little research and found out her birthday is December 27." Sakura explained.

"December 27?" Naruto repeated.

"That's tomorrow." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, I got an idea." Sakura said.

The next day Kenji was sitting on a high tree branch. She the snow got thicker, she was in a tree so the snow didn't touch her. But she could see her breath and her nose and cheeks were pinkish. She just watched the snow pile up on Konoha.

Later she was at her door and she walked inside. She closed the door behind her, she had her guard completely down and she turned on the light.

"Welcome back!" her team said in unison.

"AAah!" she screamed and fell back on her rear.

"Whoops, looks like we overdid it." Kakashi said.

"Why the heck are you guys here?" Kenji asked as she got up.

"Well it's your birthday and uh you kinda got nothing the other day so we decided to make up for it." Naruto said.

"My what?" Kenji said. "Birthday? You guys knew?" she asked.

"Sure! We're comrades aren't we?" Naruto grinned.

"D'you guys think I'm some kind of spoiled brat?" Kenji asked. "It's cool, I don't think getting gifts or my birthday is a big deal." she said.

"Well, still! I decided to just say Happy Birthday!" Sakura said and sat in Kenji's kotatsu.

"Hey Kenji can you close your eyes?" Naruto asked.

Kenji closed her eyes. "I don't know why, if you're gonna draw a mustache on me I'm gonna wash it off." she said.

"Okay open 'em!" Naruto said. Kenji opened her eyes she had a panda hat with paws on her head.

Sasuke flinched and turned around. "Do I look that bad?" Kenji asked.

"N-no." Sasuke answered, _doki doki doki_.

"I knew it would look good on you!" Naruto exclaimed blushing a little.

**! ? **Kenji got flustered and shielded her face with her closed hands. "Haha! You can be so adorable sometimes, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed and wrapped his arm around her.

Then the snow stopped outside. "Looks like it piled up a lot." Kakashi said.

Soon Naruto, Kenji, and Sasuke were outside. "Check this out! It's like a mountain!" Kenji cheered still wearing her hat. Naruto was on the ground making a snow angel.

Sasuke was still avoiding Kenji and she got an idea. Sasuke got hit in the back of the head with a snowball. He stumbled forward then turned around. "Haha~! How do ya like that pansy!" Kenji teased.

"Kono!" Sasuke said and got his own snowball. He threw it at her and she dodged it. It hit Naruto in the head. **Cue Strong and strike.**

"Returned the shot huh?" Kenji said and threw another one back at him. Sasuke took out a kunai and threw it at the snowball destroying it.

"Oi!" Naruto shouted and Sasuke got hit with another snowball on the side of his head.

"Ngh! Grr!" Sasuke said and hit him with two snowballs.

"Incoming!" Kenji said and both Naruto and Sasuke got hit with a snowball.

"You're gonna pay for that one!" Naruto said and grinned, Sasuke smirked, and Kenji smiled determined. All three of them were hyped up.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto said and made the clone seal. His own little army appeared and came running towards his teammates. The clones threw snowballs at random. Kenji made the seals rat, tiger, dog, ox, rabbit, tiger. "Katon: Hosenka no jutsu!" random fireballs shot from her mouth.

Her jutsu melted some snowballs and hit some shadow clones. Sasuke dodged one projectile and threw a wave of throwing stars. He got rid of a lot of clones, but then a clone snuck up on him from behind and held his arms back. "What!?" he said. The many clones in front of him all threw snowballs at him.

Kenji got hit in the head by one snowball, then she scooped one in her hand and jumped up. She threw it into a clone's mouth and she landed destroying the clone by stomping on that same snowball. Then she was tackled by one clone. "Ugh!" she was pushed sliding into the snow and then the clone dispersed.

Sasuke got hit with so many cold snowballs the clone behind him poofed away and he fell back into the snow. Naruto's clones all went away and he too fell back.

The three of them were lying in the snow with their arms and legs spread out. Naruto ended up laughing out loud, Kenji also ended up laughing joyfully. Sasuke just Hn'd and smiled.

"Hey guys." Kenji got Naruto and Sasuke's attention. "BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!" she exclaimed throwing her fists and feet into the air.


	19. The forest of death

**Whaddup readers! I hope you're having a good day if not I'll just cheer you up! Some how. . . Anyway I wanted to thank you for reading my story because it's gonna be very long. I am planning on writing a Shippuden sequel and that show has been running for 7 years.**

**Ok! I'm not writing the filler arcs. Why? BECAUSE IT'S MAH STORY, YOU WANT FILLER GO WRITE YOUR OWN! I will answer questions and take requests (if they're not stupid). I do love reading your reviews so please keep reviewing.**

**One dude said that Kenji shouldn't have the Rinnegan and should have Mokuton jutsus instead. Oh ho ho! I planned this out! I'm about to give you entertainment no other 13 year old in the world can give you!**

* * *

The forest of death

Kenji was walking in the dark using her Rinnegan, seeing nothing but a straight path. She stopped walking in front of a mirror on her right she looked at herself. Her pale skin and black hair had a deep contrast. "What did my eyes look like before then?" she asked and put her fingers on her eyebrow.

"Your eyes have nothing to do with the fact that you're not human!"

Kenji gasped and looked at her reflection. Her reflection had her Heaven curse mark covering her face. "You let them die. They loved you and what you gave them in return was death! _YOU_ KILLED THEM!"

A pair of arms latched around Kenji's leg. She gasped and looked down she saw a woman with bloodshot eyes and blood spilling from her mouth and torso. She also had a severed leg.

"You killed me. . ." the woman said. "Why'd you do it?" she asked and started crying. "I thought you loved me. . ."

The blood spread to Kenji's bare feet, she started panicking, "It's warm!" she thought. A pair of hands strangled her by the neck. She was gagging and a man who was also blood soaked was the one doing it. "It's your fault!" he said.

Kenji woke up sat up on her bed. She ran to her bathroom and started hurling, she flushed her vomit and looked in her mirror. She had messy hair (bed head) and was sweating so much, she wiped her brow. She held her right arm out in front of her and pulled down her white sleeve. She had a long scar that was stitched up. "It just won't fade. . ."

Later she was at the 44th training ground with her team. She looked very emotionless but Naruto just walked up to her. "Oiiii!" he said and she faced him. "What happened to you? You look down." he said.

"I had a. . Bad dream. . ." she said and looked away from him. The team looked at the forest from their spot. Sakura was creeped out.

"You will be able to experience why this place is called the Forest of Death." Anko said.

Naruto snorted and stuck his rear out. "You will be able to experience why this place is called the Forest of Death." he mocked. "There's no point in trying to scare us like that! I'm not scared at all 'ttebayo!" he pointed at her.

"Really? You sure are energetic. I guess you do have a point, unless you're afraid of snakes. Then that's a problem." Anko said.

The word 'Terrified' was pointed at Kenji with an arrow and she got depressed. Then a kunai knife rapidly zoomed by and scratched Naruto's face.

Anko appeared behind Naruto and freaked him out. Then a woman from the Hidden grass with a very long tongue approached them and returned the kunai.

**! ! ! ! ! **Kenji's eyes widened and wavered. "That's. . ." she thought and her heartbeat started acting abnormally. "I can't move, I have to tell someone! Why can't I!?" she thought.

"Sorry about that." the Grass ninja apologized and walked away. She passed Kenji and it made her tense even more. She slapped both hands on her mouth and ran away.

Naruto turned to see Sakura and Sasuke running after her. "Oi Kenji!" Sakura called.

"Matte o'tempa masume!" (Wait you tomboy!) Sasuke shouted. Some of the other Genins laughed and Naruto followed them.

Kenji was sitting far from the crowd, she was vomiting on the grass. Sakura and Sasuke were standing behind her and came next to them. "Daijobu desuka?" (Are you ok?) Sakura asked.

"Man, you have no self-control do you?" Sasuke said.

"Urusai!" Kenji yelled at him.

"What happened to you? Are you sick or something?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not sick." Kenji said and stood up. She put the back of her hand on her mouth. "I'm not sick but I don't feel good." she said.

They went back to hear about the second exam. Anko passed out contracts that they needed to sign before taking the second exams. She explained that in order to pass they need to survive 5 days in the dangerous forest. While using any method possible to get the Heaven and Earth scrolls.

They turned in their applications, Squad 7 got a Heaven scroll and waited 30 minutes at Gate 12. Then they stepped into the forest and started walking in. After a few minutes they heard pained screams. "Those screams. . . I'm getting kind of uneasy." Sakura said.

Then the team heard a snake's hiss and Kenji froze. Her arms were glued to her sides and her eyes were horrified. "Kenji?" Sakura asked. "Come on! Say something Kenji!" she said.

"She's not moving." Naruto said.

"Her stupid phobia is gonna get us in trouble." Sasuke said and walked up to her. He raised his hand.

_THWAP! _Sakura looked away. Sasuke's hand was across his chest and Kenji's cheek was red.

"Why'd you slap her? It didn't even do anything!" Naruto asked. Then Kenji sank down to the ground and started hyperventilating while supporting her head.

"That's not a good sign!" Sakura panicked.

Naruto and Sasuke kneeled down to her level. "Stop you're damaging yourself!" Sasuke scolded.

"Listen here's how to conquer your fear," Naruto said. "The snakes can't do anything to you. You can easily overpower them but if you let yourself be scared then you'll be your own enemy!" he told her.

"All you have to do is realize you're own strength. Self confidence rules over fear." Sasuke advised.

Kenji's breathing started to go back to normal, she stood up and calmed down. "Ok. Let's go look for an Earth scroll now." she said collected.

"Ah wait!" Naruto said and tried to pull down his fly. Kenji turned away flustered and Sakura rammed him on the head. "Kono baka! What are you doing in front of a lady! Go to the grass." she scolded.

His team was waiting for him. Then Kenji tensed up when the bushes started rustling and Naruto came out. She forced him down and held a kunai knife to his neck. "Who the heck are you!? And where's Naruto!?" she demanded.

**! !** Sakura was shocked, "What's wrong with you?!" she exclaimed.

"That's right," Sasuke walked up to them. "Where's the real Naruto?" he asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" the "Naruto" responded.

"What happened to the scratch on your face?" Sasuke asked and Sakura gasped. "I'm talking about the one the proctor gave him. Also your shuriken holster is on your left leg. That guy's right handed!" he said.

"You got unlucky, the Transformation jutsu has no effect on me." Kenji said.

"Is that so?" he said and came out of his Transformation. He was really a ninja from Amegakure.

Soon he was tied up and sitting against a large tree with Sasuke, Kenji, and Sakura standing in front of him. Sasuke had his hands in his pockets. "That was too easy. Now we need him to tell us where Naruto is and if possible learn what scroll he has." he said.

"All we need to do is get information from him. He doesn't have to open his mouth." Kenji said and walked up to the Rain ninja. She put her hand on his head, "Hey Sasuke Sakura, have you ever seen what a soul looks like?" she asked.

**? ? **They didn't answer. Kenji started lifting her hand and a ghostly like figure in the shape of a person followed her palm. She pulled it out of his body and he become limb. Sakura walked up and reached her hand out. "Stop, don't touch it." Kenji stopped her.

"Why not? What happened?" Sakura asked.

"I killed him." Kenji answered.

"EH!?" Sakura shouted.

"Baka! We needed him to talk!" Sasuke yelled at Kenji.

"No we didn't, I already know where Naruto is and this guy didn't have the scroll. His team does but they also have the Heaven scroll so we don't need it." Kenji told him.

"How do you know that?" Sasuke asked.

"When I yanked out his soul I found that information in his mind. When I use that jutsu on anyone it doesn't just kill them, I also learn what they know from the information stored in their minds." she explained. "So basically if I can get my hands on someone I can just read their mind and remove their soul." she said.

"That'll be useful." Sasuke said.

"Scary~" Sakura thought.

"Let's go get Naruto." Kenji said and vanished into the air (like most of the ninjas in the show do). Sasuke and Sakura also vanished.

They found Naruto tied up on the ground. "Usuratonkachi." Sasuke said. Kenji cut his ropes and he sat up. Sasuke looked at his team, "With this, it's gonna be hard to get the scroll we need. Splitting up could be dangerous. . ." he thought.

"Naruto, daijobu?" Kenji asked.

"Yeah," Naruto answered. "Uhh. . . Sakura-chan don't stand there." he said. Sakura looked down and saw that it was where he took a leak. She panicked and jumped away from there. "NARUTO! You idiot!" she shouted.

A few meters away from them a snake hissed. "Aaahaaaah!" Kenji screamed and clung to Naruto out of reflex. "I hate those things!" she panicked.

"Cho-chotto! Kenji!" Naruto said.

"Naruto, you disgusting little moron!" Sakura shouted.

Sasuke watched the team commotion, Sakura grossed out and angry, Kenji clinging to Naruto in fear, and Naruto flustered. A bead of sweat appeared on the back of his head. "These next 5 days will be awful." he said.


	20. Overcome your fear!

Overcome your fear!

Squad 7 was sitting together in a conversation after what just happened. "If there's an instance when someone appears don't trust him if he looks like your teammate. Right now there's a possibility that an enemy will transform and try to get close to us. Kenji's eyes aren't enough for the four of us." Sasuke explained.

"Yeah." Naruto agreed.

"I hate to admit it but there are too many enemies out here already. . ." Kenji said and reached for her holster. Sasuke stopped her hand and she scowled and pulled her hand back.

"So what should we do?" Sakura asked.

"We'll decide on a password." Sasuke answered.

"A password?" Naruto asked.

"Listen if someone gets the password wrong no matter what he looks like presume he's an enemy!. . . I'll only say it once so listen closely. If you ask, Ninja song "Ninja chance" and the answer is the chance to sneak up when a large number of enemies are making a scene. The quiet place has no hideout. It is important for a shinobi to know the right time. The time when an enemy is tired and drops his guard. That's it." Sasuke said.

"Okay!" Sakura said confidently.

"Could you say it again?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, I forgot it already." Kenji agreed.

"Huh?" Sakura asked.

"I told you I would only say it once." Sasuke said.

"Could it be that you couldn't memorize it? You fools! I got it down perfectly!" Sakura insulted and Kenji got depressed. Sasuke stood up.

"I'll carry the scroll." he said and took it. Then Naruto got scratched on his face again and the team was blasted away and separated.

Kenji landed in the grass and sat up. She supported her head and furrowed her eyebrows. "Who would've thought that you'd run all the way to the Hidden Leaf village." a creepy voice said.

Kenji gasped and looked in the direction of the voice. It was that Grass ninja from earlier she started walking toward Kenji with a twisted smirk. Kenji was frightened and scooted away from her.

**! ! **She was shocked when she bumped into a tree and the creepy woman still approached her. Kenji sat terrified against the tree and trembled. The woman squatted down in front of her. "How cute, you've developed a fear of snakes." she said and held her hand out. A snake wrapped down her hand and Kenji held her breath.

The woman laughed at her fear and pulled her hand back. Kenji inhaled and exhaled after holding her breath. "Sorry, was that too scary?" the creepy ninja said and put her hand on Kenji's face with her fingers through her hair. She rubbed and felt her face. "You feel cold. When I found out that you were gone, I assumed you took your own life. You should've seen your sister's face, it was very amusing." she said.

Kenji didn't respond at all, she was tense like a rock. Then the ninja pulled her hand back and stood up. "I'm not here for you. I'm here for your teammate, a genius like him should be promising." she said and walked away.

"He's going after my comrades." she thought and stood up. She waited for her heartbeat to calm down and then jumped away.

Sasuke and Sakura found each other. "Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said and started to run to him.

"Don't come any closer! First the password!" he demanded and held up the kunai. "Ninja song, ninja chance!" he said fiercely and Sakura stopped.

Kenji sat against the tree. "Someone like him a madman after my comrades. . . It sounds too awful to be true. . ." she thought.

Sakura said the password clearly and perfectly. Then Naruto found them and Sakura asked for the password. Naruto said the password correctly then someone came running there so fast you could hear the speed. "Shinra Tensei!" the "Naruto" was completely blasted away from the spot.

Time slowed down and Kenji skidded in front of Sakura and Sasuke. "Kenji!" Sakura shouted.

"Are you guys ok?" Kenji asked.

"Wait! What's the password?" Sasuke asked.

Kenji got a red vein on her head and rammed him on the skull. "The password was a song thingy I forgot!" she said.

"But Kenji why'd you do that to Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"That wasn't Naruto. We need to find him again." Kenji answered.

"But he said the password correctly." Sakura said.

"Exactly!" Kenji pointed at her. "Let's go! We're in serious trouble! When he comes back we're finished!" she said.

"Why do you want to run?" Sasuke asked.

"Because! AArgh!" Kenji yelled and turned herself away from them. Her bangs covered her eyes. "Because. . . I'm afraid of him." she admitted.

Sasuke and Sakura just stared at her. "I said it ok?! Now let's get outta here!" Kenji said and they jumped into the trees.

They were zooming through the trees at a fast pace. "Oi Kenji! Why are you afraid of him!? There must be a reason!" Sasuke shouted.

Kenji growled and landed on the tree branch in front of Sasuke. He gasped and Kenji raised her leg up. Sasuke landed right into her kick, he got hit in his stomach and he landed on a tree branch behind him.

Sakura also landed and looked back. "Sasuke-kun!" she yelled.

Sasuke growled and stood up. "Why the hell did you do that!?" he asked.

"Sore wa kochi no serifu da!" (That's my line!) Kenji retorted.

"Eh?" Sasuke asked.

"You don't get it! You don't know th-that _bastard_ like I do!" Kenji yelled. "I don't trust you at all so quit playing stalker! YOU GOT THAT!?" she yelled.

"Kenji. . ." Sakura said.

"I have tried. I've tried to do something about my 'stupid phobia'!" she said. Sasuke and Sakura looked at her like she was crazy. She put her hands on her head again and closed her eyes. "I just can't suppress my memories. . ." she said.

"I don't know what you're talking about! Just give us a straight answer! You've been acting strange since this morning!" Sasuke demanded.

"I told you! I can't tell you!" she said.

"You just don't want to tell me!" Sasuke yelled back furiously.

"Stop it you two!" Sakura yelled. "Why are you guys so stubborn like this?" she asked.

"It's all your fault! If you could just act normal during this exam we would've probably been better off!" Sasuke blamed her.

"My fault!? If you weren't here dragging us into this mess he wouldn't be after us!" Kenji blamed him back.

"You're doing it again! If you would just explain-!" Sasuke started.

"Shaddup!" Kenji interrupted. They kept fighting even after Sakura asked them to stop.

Sakura squeezed her hands close to her chest. "Why are they fighting? We shouldn't be fighting each other we should be fighting the enemy!" Sakura thought and watched.

"You annoy me so much! Always giving us unwanted attention! First Gejimayu now this guy! The sad truth is you're putting all of us in danger!" Kenji shouted.

"You wanna know the sad truth!? It's that our team doesn't need you! You were probably supposed to be in Squad 8 but you're just a horrible human being!" Sasuke said back.

"Guys! A snake!" Sakura warned them and they both jumped out of the way. Sasuke activated his Sharingan.

"Kuso!" Kenji thought. "We were too mad at each other to notice it's presence!" she thought as she was in the air. She landed on a tree and the snake slithered up the tree towards Sasuke.

He panicked and threw shurikens at it. The Grass ninja just emerged from the snake and rolled it's creepy tongue. She turned around and made eye contact with Kenji. She gasped and stumbled back, her eyes were wide open again. The older ninja just smirked and Kenji's legs failed her. She sat trembling on the branch, "Poor thing you just can't shake your fear of snakes." she said and rolled her tongue out. A sword came out oh her mouth and it impaled Kenji through her abdomen.

Kenji's head was hung down and blood spilled out from her mouth. "I've already lost people to him once. . . That's why I'm afraid. I can't move I'm too scared!. . . Wait!" she thought.

**! **"She stopped shaking!" the Grass ninja thought.

"I remember now. . ." she said and took out a chakra blade. She sliced the sword and landed on a branch again with part of the blade still impaled in her.

"That's impossible!" the Grass ninja thought and pulled the sword back in. Kenji pulled the sword out and tossed it away. "If I let my fear cloud my goal I can't protect my comrades." she said.

"She's overcome her fear of snakes!" Sakura thought.

Kenji jumped off the tree and made a long cut on the enemy. At the same time the enemy got hit with kunai and shurikens. Sakura gasped and Kenji smiled. "Perfect timing." she said and threw her blade into the trunk of a tree. She stood on her blade and looked up.

"Sorry Sasuke. I forgot the password." Naruto said.


	21. Sasuke you pansy!

Sasuke you pansy!

"Sorry Sasuke. I forgot the password." Naruto said.

"Naruto! I know you're trying to act cool and rescue us but that can't happen! RUN!" Sasuke shouted.

"No, don't run away! Stay here and fight! Please! Our team is in trouble and we need your help!" Kenji asked Naruto.

Sasuke scowled and turned to her. "You stay out of this! You said it yourself! We're all in trouble now!" Sasuke yelled at her.

She grunted and jumped in front of her. "Things are different now! All we need to do is keep our scroll and team safe!" she said.

"No!" Sasuke yelled.

**? **Kenji gave him a questioning look. "I'm giving him the scroll." he said. Kenji dropped her mouth down and looked at him with disgust. Sasuke took out the Heaven scroll. "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!?" Naruto shouted at him.

"You shut up! Look around you, Sakura's hurt and Kenji's wounded!" Sasuke said.

"You. PANSY!" Kenji shouted and punched Sasuke in the cheek. "Gimme that!" she growled and snatched the scroll. Sasuke was sent to another branch again. "I knew this guy before you were 4 feet tall! Once you would hand the scroll over he would've just killed us you moron!" Kenji scolded him.

Sakura gasped. The Grass ninja Shiore, rolled out her tongue again, "She's right. It could've gone either way but I can just kill you and take the scroll." she said.

Kenji put the scroll in her ninja tool pouch and then ran after her creepy opponent. "She's coming." the Shiore thought and stood in a stance. Kenji squeezed her fingers into a finger into a fist and punched her. She caught Kenji's fist with a smirk. "Raiton." (Lightning style).

Shiore got electrocuted by lightning that seemed to come from Kenji's fist. Shiore let go and stumbled back. Kenji kicked her and sent her flying quickly into a tree. Kenji made the snake, dragon, rabbit, tiger hand seals. "Katon: Ryuuka no jutsu!" (Fire style: Dragon Flame jutsu). A strong stream of fire blew from her mouth.

"Is it done?" Sakura asked. Kenji looked into the smoke and saw her put blood on Shiore's arm. "Kuchiyose no jutsu." (Summoning Jutsu) she said.

"Shimatta!" Kenji thought and jerked to the side just on time.

**! ! !** Sakura gasped as she saw a large snake. "That was close!" Kenji thought, she had landed right next to Sasuke. "Man! This guy can't do anything like this." she thought about him.

**! **Then a massive pain pricked her in the back of her neck. She fell back and grasped the back of her neck with her right hand. "Why now!?" she thought.

"How're you feeling?" Shiore on her snake asked. Kenji scowled at her, "That curse mark is very powerful. . . So right now you're vulnerable." she said and her snake came towards Kenji and Sasuke. "Kuso!" she groaned. The curse mark started spreading over her face.

Then the snake was stopped by Naruto. Kenji and Sasuke just stared at him, his head was down. "Suge. Ano chikara. . ." (Amazing. That power. . .) Kenji said.

"Yo, are you hurt?" Naruto asked. "Scaredy cat." he looked straight into Sasuke's face.

"Those eyes. . ." Kenji saw the slit pupils and the bright red irises. "I thought this would happen, it's only natural Naruto would get angered by him." she thought. "I shouldn't be sitting around!" she yelled at herself consciously. She quickly stood up and jumped past Shiore.

She landed past her with a kunai that had blood on it. Shiore smirked she only had a scratch on her face. "Is that all you can do in that state?" she asked.

Kenji didn't respond and just wiped the blood off with her fingers. Then she named and performed seals at the same time. "Hitsuji, saru, tori, inu, i." she named. "Gyaku Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" (Reverse Summoning Jutsu). The large snake disappeared in smoke.

**! **"What!? How did she do that? She reversed the Summoning jutsu." the older woman thought and Naruto punched her.

"For the Summoning jutsu you have to abide by a couple rules." Kenji started. _Explanation using chibis. _"First, you must make a contract with your summoning animal signed with your own blood." she said. _Chibi Shiore writes name on a scroll with blood. _"Even when you've made your contract the summoning animal can only be transported via blood with seals." she said next._ Chibi bites the top of it's stubby hand and slams it on the ground. A large snake appears from the spot. _"But, if someone else comes and obtains the contractor's blood." she said. _A chibi Kenji appears and scratches the Grass ninja while taking blood. _"All they need to do is form the correct hand seals backwards and the jutsu will ultimately be reversed." she explained. _Chibi Kenji slammed her stubby hand into the ground and the snake disappears._

"So that's it. . . She'd make a great replacement if I could control her." Shiore thought. "But now that she's getting used to her eyes and learning more jutsu, it might be better if I just kill her." she thought. "I'll get to that later." she lifted Naruto by the tongue.

Sakura and Kenji gasped. Naruto struggled to get free but couldn't. Shiore lifted Naruto's clothing enough to reveal the seal and held one hand behind her back. "Sasuke-kun! Please help Naruto!" Sakura pleaded.

"Mou ii, Sakura!" Kenji scolded. "Sasuke's not a hero! He won't do anything!" she said. She turned to Sasuke, "I just hope he takes his own advice. . ." she said. Her curse mark uncovered her face. "Looks like the seal's fine." she thought. "And you!" she pointed at Shiore. "Let go of him right now." she said coldly.

"She seems to have a weakness for this boy. . ." Shiore thought. Kenji threw shurikens at her but before they could make it Shiore put a seal over Naruto's preexisting seal. She dodged the throwing stars and tossed Naruto away. Kenji extended her arm out, "Bansho Tennin." a strong force pulled Naruto to her and saved him from falling. She caught him in her arms. "Yokatta." she thought.

She carefully sat him next to her, "He's unconscious. It's best if he rests for now." she thought.

"Do you kids want to learn something interesting?" Shiore asked. When she got everyone's attention she peeled off her skin over her right eye. Sakura started shaking, "Your teammate right there didn't always have her Rinnegan, she awakened it when her life changed forever. By me, Orochimaru." a different voice overlapped Shiore's. She outstretched her neck to Sasuke and bit him on the neck.

When Sasuke was released he fell to his knees. Orochimaru took out another snake sword and slashed it at Kenji who was gashed on her left arm when she blocked. She was knocked off the branch but before she went down she extended her good arm out. "Shinra Tensei."

Orochimaru was blasted away at almost a 100 miles an hour. Then Kenji started falling multiple stories, "Agh!" she hit the ground hard on her left side. Sakura heard the crash, "She fell!" Sakura thought.

On the ground Kenji's hair covered the top of her face and blood had come out from her mouth. "Ite." she said.

Above Sasuke was screaming in pain, Sakura jumped over to him and she had no clue what to do. She just screamed for Naruto and Sasuke just passed out on her. "What should I do?" she asked.

"First, you have stop whining like brat." Kenji's voice echoed and Sakura jerked her head way up to see Kenji leaning on a tree. Her head was bleeding, it spilled down her face from underneath her headband. A drop of her blood fell on the wood and Sakura gasped.

"How are you still alive? You should've fallen to death, I heard you." Sakura said.

"Magic." Kenji said sarcastically and walked over to Naruto. She squatted down and put him over her shoulder. "I survived but I hit my head and broke my left arm. In addition to my stab wound it's pretty bad." Kenji said truthfully. "Demo." she said.

**!** Sakura lightly gasped. "She's going to die at this rate!" she thought.

"Neither Naruto or Sasuke can fight and I _doubt_ you can defend them." Kenji said. "Let's go, right now we need to find them a place to rest." she said.

"Hai." Sakura said and supported Sasuke. When she did she started tearing up. Kenji just looked at her.

"Tch!" she said through her teeth and jumped next to her. "Stop crying." she said. Sakura didn't listen though. Kenji sighed, "Man. Oi!" she said and Sakura looked up at her. "I apologize, I was a jerk for saying you're a bad shinobi. And I uhhhh. . . Cheated. Off of you in the first exam." Kenji said and Sakura stopped crying. "I know you don't like me, because of my personality. I can't help it, to me being tough is more important than being pretty." she said. "But I don't dislike you back. You're my comrade even if you don't consider me one." Kenji said.

**! **Sakura got a shock and instantly remembered all the times she insulted Kenji before.

"Ikoh." Kenji's steps made unique noises on the wood but she stopped and turned back to Sakura. "Sakura keep up, there are a lot of huge animals ahead. So you have to follow me if you don't want to get mauled to death." she told her

Sakura ran after her. "That's right. . ." Kenji thought and she remembered that same image that came to her when she got the Chunin exam application. The memory of those corpses. . . "Being tough is more important than being pretty. . ." she thought.


	22. Broken bones but strong will

Broken bones but strong will

Sakura and Kenji were walking through the forest. "Someone's looking for us I'd better hide them before we get in trouble." Kenji thought. Sakura followed her, "Come here." Kenji said and ducked through the roots of a tree. Sakura did the same and they sheltered under the tree.

Naruto and Sasuke were laid down and Kenji was looking at her left leg. "I have a fracture." she said and wiped her face with her sleeve. Some of her blood was stained onto her sleeve. "I put a Genjutsu on this place. When dawn breaks I'll go deal with our pursuers." she thought.

Sakura fell asleep, Kenji watched her team while she was sitting against a branch with her arms crossed. "They're all I have. . . I've already lost people before. Their lives are on my shoulders so I must do everything to protect them." she looked up. "Isn't that right?" she thought.

Then Sakura awoke with a gasp, she was panting and sweating. Kenji adjusted her head down from her gaze. "Had a nightmare?" she asked.

"Yeah." Sakura answered. "Kenji, do you ever get bad dreams?. . ." she asked. Kenji turned her head away and looked out the tree.

"All the time." she answered. Then sunlight started shining through the trees and leaves. "Sakura, stay right here with Naruto and Sasuke. Don't move or even put your hand out. Whatever you do, do not leave this spot. Even if someone walks by hold still and be calm, if you do that they won't see you." Kenji said to Sakura and walked out of the tree.

"Where are you going? Sakura asked her.

"It doesn't matter. As long as you stay here everything will be fine, ok? Just be silent." Kenji said and walked away through the bushes. She stopped in a clearing and saw the 3 Genin from the Hidden Sound village. "I knew these guys were no good." she thought.

"Where's that Uchiha kid?" Dosu a person with bandages around his face asked.

"Who knows?" Kenji answered and got in a stance.

"What a sour attitude." the other guy on the team Zaku said. He stuck his palm out towards her.

"Nani?" Kenji thought and raised her eyebrow. Zaku grinned creepily and a blast of air came from his palm. "Argh!" Kenji shielded her face and closed one eye. The air blew dust in her face and blew her hair back.

Then five senbon needles were thrown into her right leg. She groaned, "I just have to keep them from finding Naruto and the others." she thought. The dust cleared and she lowered her arms.

"I'll ask again, where's Sasuke?" Dosu asked.

"Maybe he flew away. Get lost!" Kenji remarked rudely.

"Hmph! Wrong answer." Dosu said and raised his right forearm in front of his face. Kenji heard a loud sound and she widened her eyes. Then she shut her eyes and was forcing her hands over her ears with her head back. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" she screamed in agony.

Sakura gasped and looked out. "That scream, it was Kenji. What happened?" she asked.

Kenji pulled the needles out of her leg and took her other hand off her ear. She looked at it and it had blood on it. "What happened?" she thought. Then suddenly she fell on her hands and knees and vomited.

"Feeling sick?" Dosu asked. "My attacks affect your ears so dodging and blocking my punches won't save you. When you hear my attack it can cause things like headaches and nausea." he explained.

"So that's it. I guess I can assume that the one with the bandages on his face is the strongest." she thought. She stood up and threw shurikens at Dosu but Zaku just blasted them away. "Darn it!" she said.

Zaku grinned again and raised his hands to her. Kenji ran towards him and punched him up the head. "Now!" she thought and slipped a chakra blade out of her sleeve. She ran in front of Dosu and stabbed her blade into his abdomen. She stabbed him so strongly that Dosu was stabbed against a tree.

Zaku and Kin hid behind trees. "That brat's not human! She's a monster!" Zaku thought.

"We need to think of a way to stop her from fighting." Kin thought.

"Right now we need to hide and then attack! That's our best strategy." Zaku said consciously. Kenji saw a chakra network system behind a tree on her left.

"If anyone does so much as scratch one of my friends. No matter what, I will protect them even if I cannot protect myself." she said. "I will rise above my fears for them." she said and ran towards the tree Zaku was hiding behind.

She smashed it down with a punch. Zaku was sitting next to the fallen tree, Kenji's shadow was covering him. Zaku was staring at her silhouette, "My comrades are. . . Precious." she said.

"Is that true?" Kin said and Kenji heard a grunt.

"That voice. . ." she thought and turned around. She saw Kin holding Sakura by the hair. "How!?" Kenji thought. Sakura was in pain and Kenji took a step.

"Stop right there!" Kin threatened and Kenji stopped. "If your comrades are truly "precious" then you won't move." Kin said. She down looked at Sakura, "Your hair is shinier than mine. Kora, if you have time to worry about your hair you should practice!" Kin scolded her.

Zaku swung his leg around in a kick and his heel made a loud sound as it hit Kenji's left leg. In addition to the sound of the kick, the sounds of bones cracking came from her leg. "Aagh!" she fell on her hands and knees.

Zaku stood up and walked next to her, he lifted his foot above her and dropped it down on her back making her lie flat on the ground. Zaku lifted her left sleeve, "Your left arm and leg are broken. You must a fool for coming out here like this." he said and stomped on her left arm.

She gritted her teeth painfully. Sakura cried and her tears fell on the ground. "You guys are nothing but foolish brats who know nothing about being a ninja." Kin told them. Sakura and Kenji were being forcefully held down.

Kenji planted her right forearm in the ground and lifted her upper body. "You jerks. . .! Don't know the first thing about Konoha!" she growled.

Sakura took out a kunai knife and sliced her hair short freeing herself from Kin's grasp. Kenji yanked her left arm away and jumped away from Zaku. She raised her palm to him and lifted him up without touching him. She pressed him against a tree and grasped one of her black rods in her right hand. She threw it at Zaku and it nailed him into the tree. His head and arms hung down.

"Kono!" Kin said and threw senbons at Kenji. She ducked them and jumped off her right leg. She made direct eye contact with Kin and she gasped at the look of her eyes.

There was a loud sound of a clash metal. The Sound team was pinned into trees in a line all defeated by Kenji despite her condition.

"Alright! You beat them!" Sakura cheered, then she stopped in realization and turned to Kenji.

"Grrrrrrr!" she growled as she gritted her teeth in anger and furrowed her eyebrows. She lowered her chin, her expression was furious. "I TOLD YOU TO STAY AT THE TREE!" she yelled so loud that you could hear her above the trees.

"Well yeah, but I heard you scream so I ran to help you." Sakura said.

"I clearly said not to leave the guys alone!" Kenji growled at her.

"Look, I thought about what you said." Sakura told her and Kenji stopped gritting her teeth. "You're right if we want to pass these exams I have to worry about my image later." Sakura said.

Kenji sighed. "Alright, I know you mean well. But thanks to you my leg's broken!" she scolded. Sakura shivered and her hair raised again. "Just go get the scroll! The guy with the bandaged face has it." Kenji said.

Sakura ran over to Dosu and got the Earth scroll. "Let's go." Kenji said and Sakura ran ahead of her. Kenji started limping, when Sakura got to the clearing she released the Genjutsu and stopped. The Earth scroll dropped to her feet. Kenji put leaned on a tree and looked up.

**! !** Her Rinnegan saw a purple sort of chakra swirling in the air ahead of her, it had a frightening aura. "What is that?" she asked. She jumped up through the trees. "This murderous intent!" she thought and landed next to Sakura. "What happened!?" Kenji asked.

"I-I don't know." Sakura stuttered. Kenji saw where the chakra was coming from.

"That curse mark!" she thought. "Sakura, be careful!" Kenji warned. Sasuke sat up and Sakura started stepping back. "He's not in his right mind now, he's dangerous." Kenji said.

"Shimatta! To be honest I'm not sure if I can fight him like this." Kenji thought. She shook her head. "Iya iya! I can't be thinking like that!" she thought and reached for her kunai holster. "After all," she thought and held a kunai in front of her. "He's still the same pansy he always was." she concluded.

Sasuke walked out of the tree. The dark purple chakra surrounded him and his head was down so his face was unseen. "Say. . ." he said.

**?** Kenji raised her face a little in confusion.

"In the Academy I seriously thought you were a guy. When people started saying you were a girl I found that hard to believe." he said and he slowly looked up.

**! ! **Sakura and Kenji were shocked. His expression was all out twisted, (To those of you who understand internet he basically made that r-face). Sakura was terrified and she squeezed her hands close to her chest.

Tears fell onto her hands, "Sasuke-kun. . ." she thought.

* * *

**Hey guys! I was at Otakon for a couple days so I left and couldn't update for a while because leaving home means leaving wifi. But I still had an awesome time! Remember to review you should know how much it makes my day!**


	23. The avenger

The avenger

Sasuke was standing with intense chakra surrounding his body and his Sharingan on, piercing fear into Sakura.

Kenji looked serious, "I don't know what to think. Maybe that curse mark is driving him insane. The worse case scenario is that Sasuke's gone insane all on his own." she thought. "I don't know maybe a good whack on the head will do the trick." she thought.

"I feel power surging through me. I feel good right now." Sasuke said. "You've obviously been with that guy before, is he the one who gave you your power?" he asked her. "I realize now that power is what I need most. In order to achieve my goal." he said and clenched his fist. "I'm an avenger." he said.

"Chigau! Revenge, power! It's not worth it selling yourself to that creep!" she said. "I know! It was hell. . . You haven't seen them but I have scars from that time." she told him. "You and I have comrades." she finished.

"Comrades. . ." an image of corpses flashed in his mind. "I had comrades, they were all killed by my powerlessness!" he said and ran towards her.

"Tch!" Kenji threw her kunai at him, Sasuke just dodged it and grabbed her by the neck. But then sparks of lightning appeared in Sasuke's hand. "Raiton Kage Bunshin. . ." (Lightning style shadow clone) he said.

He was violently knocked forward. "Teme!" Kenji kicked him from behind.

"Kenji! Don't hurt him! He's still a part of our team!" Sakura yelled at her.

"Ahh!" Kenji got punched in the jaw and fell on the ground. Her head started bleeding again. Sasuke put one hand beside her head and raised his fist next to him. He extended his fist down towards her face with dangerous strength.

Kenji caught his forearm an inch away from her. His arm was shaking while being squeezed by her hands. "Please don't hurt him!" Sakura begged.

Kenji scowled in her position. "If you seriously feel like that then how 'bout we switch places!" she yelled at Sakura.

"Demo! Sasuke-kun. . ." Sakura pleaded.

"Your beloved Sasuke-kun is trying to kill me right now! Take a hint!" Kenji yelled again. Sasuke kneed her in her bad leg and she squinted her eyes in pain.

Kenji yanked him off by his arm and he slid in the dirt. Kenji sat up and panted. "The pain's getting worse." she thought.

Sasuke stood up, then she ran towards Sakura. "What!?" Kenji exclaimed and saw Sakura standing helplessly as Sasuke was quickly approaching.

**! **Sakura widened her eyes.

Then a leg kicked Sasuke away. The one who saved Sakura was Rock Lee, Sakura watched Lee save her. Then a dark line stretched across the ground and to Sasuke's shadow.

Lee landed on the ground in front of Sakura and Sasuke didn't move a muscle. At the end of that dark line was Shikamaru with a hand seal. "Kagemane no jutsu success." he said.

Kenji took the chance and ran up behind Sasuke. She knocked him out with a punch on the back of his head. He fell down and so did Kenji. Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji all came running out.

"Oi! Omae!" Ino yelled and stood next to Kenji with her hands on her hips. "You shouldn't go knocking people out like that especially if it's Sasuke-kun!" Ino scolded.

"Well what would you do?" Kenji asked. Sasuke's curse mark uncovered his arms, legs, and face.

"Sasuke attacked her first it was self defense." Shikamaru defended Kenji.

"Sakura-san, daijobou?" (Are you ok?) Lee turned around and asked her.

"Yeah, thanks to you." she answered.

"Why'd you guys come?" Kenji asked.

"Well, we just happened to stumble upon you. It was troublesome but we decided to help." Shikamaru said.

"And I heard you scream when I came Sakura-san was in trouble." Lee told her.

"Why save me?" Sakura asked.

"I told you earlier, I'll protect you until I die." Lee responded.

**! **This made her remember his confession.

"Arigato. . ." Kenji thanked and collapsed on her back.

"Are you ok? You're all beat up." Choji asked.

"Well to be honest I pretty much fell a bunch of stories." she confessed. "My head feels like it's gonna explode right now. Not mention my left limbs." she told them.

Rock walked over to her and got down on one knee. He helped her sit up, "I'm surprised that you didn't get a brain damage." he said. "Do you mind if I look at your arm?" he asked.

"Not really." she answered and Lee carefully lifted her left arm by her wrist. He started pulling the sleeve up. "Ite~" she said.

"Sorry," Lee apologized. "Your arm is definitely broken. It may be like this for the rest of the exam." he said.

Lee's teammates were watching from above. They decided to jump down. "Lee!" his teammate with lavender tinted eyes called. "You had no concern in this situation." he told Lee.

"Sumimasen. I just acted upon my feelings." Lee apologized and stood up.

Also. . ." his teammate looked over at Kenji. "You shouldn't get close to that kid. She's a bitch." he insulted flatly.

**!** Kenji's eyes widened at his words.

"Yikes!" Shikamaru thought.

"Oi Neji!" the girl with the pink top said. Ino brought her hand close to her mouth and snickered. Then she started chuckling, Kenji tilted her head down. In the silhouette of her face her teeth gritted in rage.

"How rude." Sakura thought.

"Beat it! You jerk!" Kenji snarled and Lee's team left. "Kuso!" she said after they left. Then Sasuke awoke and sat up.

**! **Everyone noticed and strengthened their guards. When Sasuke looked around he saw everyone's alert expressions. "What happened?" he thought.

"Sasuke-kun. . ." Sakura said and Sasuke looked her way. "Are you feeling alright now?" she asked.

**? **Sasuke looked confused. "You almost beat her up." Kenji said and he looked her way. "Do you remember? You were taken over by your own darkness." she said.

Sasuke saw himself covered by his curse mark in his mind. "Yeah, you kind of went berserk." Shikamaru said with a hand on his hip.

"Look around. This is what happens when you let lust take over you." Kenji told him. "Don't let it happen again. I know how you feel, the guilt of not being able to save your loved ones." she said. "But right now. . ."

_Bang!_

"Payback!" Kenji yelled. Sasuke got punched in the face and fell on the ground.

Sasuke scowled and rubbed his cheek. "That tomboy. . .!" he thought.

"Oi Sakura." Kenji said. "Catch." she threw her the Earth scroll and Sakura caught it. "Hang on to that for while." Kenji told her.

"Aaahhaaaaaiiieeee!" Naruto woke up screaming. Kenji turned her head to look at him, "He's finally up after all that happened." she thought.

"AAH!" he screamed again. "Sakura-chan!" he ran over to her. "Your hair. . .!" he panicked.

"Oh this?" Sakura touched her sliced locks. "Just an image change." she told him. "Of course I like long hair much better because it's just better looking." she said and Kenji sulked. "But right now, it's not important." Sakura said and Kenji raised her head.

"Hey, Sakura! Over here! I'll fix your hair." Ino called.

"Thank you." Sakura said and walked over to her. Ino was fixing her hair with a kunai knife.

While that was happening Kenji's head was still bleeding and it stained the dirt. "O-Oi!" Naruto said. Kenji's head was hanging down again. "What happened to you?" he asked.

"I hit my head. . ." she answered. "I'm fine." then she suddenly turned to look at something else. Naruto looked in the same place, he saw these flowers that added color to the setting.

"Nani?" Naruto asked.

"Those amaryllises. . ." she answered with a smile.

"I don't get it." Naruto said.

"A long time ago someone used to tell me that when I whenever I saw those flowers it meant that she loved me." Kenji told him.

"So it's an inside thing that basically means "Aishiteru"?" Naruto said.

"Yeah." Kenji said, she smiled happily.


	24. Nightmare Disorder

Nightmare disorder

Team 7 was resting near a river, they had fish cooking on a fire. Naruto had his orange track suit off and Kenji wasn't wearing her jacket. When they were done cooking the fish they discussed their new plan. "It's been 4 days so we have one day left. We have the Earth scroll so we just need to get the Heaven scroll now." Sasuke said.

"How? I'm sure many teams have passed already. Even if we do find another team we'll need to be lucky, they might not even have the Heaven scroll." Sakura told him.

"Well, I know two ways that will both get us the Heaven scroll." Kenji said. She got her team's attention. "In the beginning of the exam we ran into a guy, we learned that his team had the Heaven scroll." she started.

Sasuke and Sakura remembered that. On the first day a rain ninja pretended to Naruto and was found out. Kenji killed him and learned he had the Heaven scroll from his mind.

"I see." Sakura said.

"So we need to find that guy's team?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, cause they have the Heaven scroll for sure." Kenji told him.

"What's the second way?" Sasuke asked her.

"The second way's much easier so listen close." she said and reached behind her. "The second way is that we just head straight to the tower." she said.

"That's stupid!" Sasuke yelled at her.

"Why? I already have the Heaven scroll." Kenji said holding it in her hand.

"What!?" Sasuke said.

"You don't remember?" Kenji asked.

Sakura remembered, Kenji had punched him and snatched the scroll. "That day Sasuke-kun was about to give up our scroll. . . So Kenji took it from him." she thought. Kenji put the scroll away and crossed her arms.

"Alright, we have both of the scrolls. We'll just head to the tower like Kenji said." Sasuke told his team.

"But, there are probably a few teams still running around in the forest. . ." Sakura said.

"She's right. From now on the remaining teams will ruthlessly fight for the scrolls." Kenji said. "We could run into things like traps on our way to the tower." she added.

"But right now you can't even walk." Sasuke said. "You'll only slow us down, you're too injured to continue in this forest." he told her.

"What does that mean?" Sakura asked.

"We have to leave Kenji behind." Sasuke answered.

"Eh!? Chotto!" Naruto yelled. "Kenji fought for all of us and in return you wanna ditch her!?" he shouted in disbelief.

"I don't entirely agree either." Sakura said. "During this exam Kenji protected us. I'd feel guilty about leaving her in a place like this." she told him.

"It can't helped, she fought too hard. She can't even stand anymore." Sasuke said.

"Part of the reason I can't stand is you, Sasuke." Kenji told him. "As much as I hate to say it Sasuke's right." she admitted. "I haven't gotten any sleep during this entire exam and my head hurts like crazy." she told them. "I'm no good."

Those last three words made everything silent. "Well, don't say that." a different voice said. Everyone turned towards where they heard the voice. They saw Kabuto standing there. "Kabuto-san!" Naruto said.

Sasuke looked at Kabuto suspiciously. "In case you're wondering, I'm not here to take your scrolls." he assured.

Kenji grumbled, "I can tell you already have both scrolls. But leave, you're pretty shady coming here alone." she told him.

"A lot happened. I was supposed to meet with my teammates at the tower and I ended up separated from them." Kabuto said.

"We were going to head to the tower also." Sakura told him.

"If you want I can help you guys get there, since we're going to the same place." Kabuto offered.

"What a joke. If you've noticed the remaining teams are gonna be more ruthless from now on, they have traps waiting for us. And, there are oversized animals and bugs crawling left and right." Kenji said.

"That's why I should accompany you guys, I know a lot about this place that would help you." Kabuto said.

"Yeah, you've taken these exams at least 6 times before." Sasuke pointed out.

"Alright, if you want." Kenji said. "I'll give you guys the scroll. Remember, you three will still pass the exam." she faintly smiled. "All I can do now is wish you good luck." she said.

Naruto and Sakura looked sad. Kenji noticed their expressions and kept smiling. "Don't worry, I will_ not_ die. As soon as you guys pass, I'll get out of here safely and cheer you guys on." she told them.

"Why can't she come?" Kabuto asked.

"She's injured too badly. In her condition she'll only slow us down or worse." Sasuke answered.

"If it's an injury that's keeping you from moving I can help." Kabuto said.

**? ? ?** "Huh?" Naruto, Kenji, and Sakura didn't get it.

"What do you mean by that? How?" Sasuke asked. Kabuto pushed his glasses up.

"I'm a medical ninja." he said.

"Medical ninja?" Naruto repeated.

"Yes, I can heal your friend. That way you won't have to leave her behind." Kabuto offered.

"Hontoni?" (Really?) Naruto asked.

"Yeah." Kabuto said and walked over to Kenji. He kneeled down on her left side. He looked at her injuries. "How did you get these anyway?" he asked.

"Ask him." Kenji said and everyone looked at Sasuke.

Sasuke flinched, "I panicked." he said.

"She fell off a tree. When she climbed back up her left leg was only fractured. But then she broke it in a fight." Sakura told Kabuto.

"Fell off a tree. . ." Kabuto repeated and green chakra started emitting from his hands. "Then I'll start with the head." he said and brought his hands to the left side of her head. "This wound would naturally cause a headache. You should've at least bandaged it." he said.

"Uruse! At least I stayed awake." Kenji talked back. Kabuto used his jutsu on her leg and arm. Then he stopped and stood up. "Try standing now. You should be fine." Kabuto said.

"Eh? But Kenji was stabbed. . ." Sakura said.

"You didn't tell me anything about a stab wound." Kabuto said.

"We didn't need to." Kenji said. "That wound is already healed." she said.

"How's that possible? It's only been a few days." Sasuke asked.

"For me normal scratchs would take at least 2 and a half minutes to heal." Kenji said and put her right hand in the ground. "A stab wound takes 20 hours maximum to heal." she stood up on her feet.

"But wounds don't heal that fast. It's impossible." Sakura said.

"Well, I know a person whose wounds heal almost instantly so to me it seems a little bland. No offense." Kabuto said.

"Alright you're coming. But this time don't kick me in the gut!" Sasuke said and jumped off.

"I can't anything promise that hard." Kenji muttered and they all jumped into the forest.

Squad 7 was jumping from tree to tree with Kabuto. "There are traps ahead that'll definitely slow us down, be careful." Kabuto told them.

"Yeah, I can see all sorts of things nets, wire strings, you name it." Kenji said. "There's a wave of chakra in the air, Genjutsu?" she figured.

"Your eyes are impressive you can see all that?" Kabuto asked.

"Don't even try to ask me about my eyes. It's probably written all over those stalker cards of yours anyways." Kenji told him.

"Kenji, how do we avoid all those?" Sasuke asked.

"We have to stay in the trees. The ground has a lot of dangerous creatures and poisonous bugs." she started. "But be careful, up here there's all these traps that will release kunai and shuriken." she said.

"Iku zo!" Naruto exclaimed and they all took off at a faster speed.

At evening you could hear the crickets chirping and frogs croaking. Squad 7 and Kabuto were in the trees. Sasuke, Sakura, and Kabuto were panting. "I've almost used up all of my chakra." Sasuke thought.

Kenji was looking ahead. "Oi, Kenji! What're you doing?" Sasuke asked demandingly. Kenji didn't say a word and pointed out her index finger to where she was looking.

Kabuto saw what she was looking at. "Looks like we've pretty much reached the tower." he said. The tower was only at least a couple meters away.

Later they were at the entrances to the tower. "Well, I should meet with my team now. Thank you, and good luck." Kabuto said. "You are pretty amazing rookies." he added.

Naruto grinned. "Ja ne, Kabuto-san!" he waved and the rookies entered the building. Kabuto was walking away, the light reflected off of his glasses lens and he grinned creepily.

In the tower Kenji was sitting against the wall and underneath the open window with her knees tucked in. The window gave a perfect view of the moon. "Oi." Sasuke said.

"Nani?" Kenji asked. Sasuke just made a 'Hn', walked up to her, and squatted on his knees in front of her. "What? You're in my personal space." she said.

"You're not supposed to have bags." Sasuke told her. "Even the biggest idiots know to get some sleep after 4 days." he insulted.

Kenji folded her arms on her knees and rested her head on them. "Uruse or else I'll put you to sleep my way." she told him.

"Violent much?" Sasuke said.

"Uruse~!" Kenji told him.

"I can hear the exhaustion in your voice." Sasuke ignored her demand.

". . . I never sleep well anyway so it doesn't matter to me." she grumbled. She remembered her short convo with Sakura.

_"Kenji, do you ever get bad dreams?. . ." Sakura asked. Kenji turned her head away and looked out the tree._

_"All the time." she answered._


	25. Preliminaries

Preliminaries

It was morning and Squad 7 was together in the tower. The was a poem on the wall that showed relation to the scrolls.

"I don't get it." Kenji said with her arms crossed. Sakura got annoyed and furrowed her eyebrows.

"It's telling us to open the scrolls, aho." Sakura said with a hand on her hip. Kenji dropped her head and sulked.

Sakura had the Earth scroll and Kenji had the Heaven scroll. Sakura was looking intensely at her scroll. "Ok, let's o-"

"An incomplete summoning inscription." Kenji said looking at her open scroll.

"Wha!? Hey! You just went and opened it!?" Sakura yelled at her.

"Huh?" Kenji looked up from her scroll. "Teme (You) were the one who said to open it." she said. Sakura growled and yanked open her scroll. When they both had their scrolls open smoke seemed to come from.

"It is a summoning!" Sasuke thought. "Sakura, Kenji! Let go of the scrolls!" he told them. They tossed the scrolls away and a bunch of smoke blew straight up into the air from them.

"Y-you." Sasuke stammered.

"Yo. Long time no see." Iruka greeted.

"Sensei. . ." Kenji said.

"What's going on here?" Sakura asked.

"A chunin is allowed to speak to the test takers at the end of the exam. I just happened to be your messenger." Iruka answered.

"Messenger?" Sakura repeated.

Iruka checked the time. "Just on time. Everyone. Congratulations on surviving the second exam. As a reward I can treat you to Ichiraku ramen but-"

Naruto ran up and hugged him. "YATTA! Ramen! Ramen! Dattebayo!" he cheered. Sakura and Sasuke sat down for a rest.

"How much energy does this guy have?" Sasuke complained.

"Sasuga Naruto!" Kenji thought.

"Man, you still got that scatterbrained part of you." Iruka said.

"I see. Iruka Sensei, what would've you done if we looked at the scrolls during the exams?" Sasuke asked. Iruka explained he was supposed to knock them out if anyone looked.

The test takers who passed the second exam were held in one place.

"First off congratulations on passing the second exam." Anko announced up front. "For this next exam!. . ." Anko was announcing things that slowly became mute.

Everything was getting darker and darker while shaking. Kenji had her arms crossed and was watching behind Sasuke, her eyelids started closing. "I can't hear. . . Can't see. . ." her head dropped.

_Kenji was on her knees, two corpses were beside her. Her dirty hands were on the floor in the space between her legs. The blood from the corpses shaped into a sentence. "It's your fault!"_

_A tear dripped from her face to the floor. Soon many more tears fell. . ._

_"Gomene. . . Gomene. . ." _

"Gomene. . ." Kenji said in her sleep.

**! !** Naruto and Sasuke turned their heads to face her. Her curse mark started covering her neck. Sakura panicked as she watched from behind. "Oi! What's happening?" Naruto whispered.

"I don't know!" Sasuke whispered back. "Kora!" Sasuke said snapped his fingers near her face. Her eyes shot open and she woke up. Her curse mark repelled, "What happened?" she asked.

"You dozed off!" Sasuke answered.

"Sasuke-kun! That bruise. . . It's dangerous!" Sakura said.

"What are you saying?" Sasuke asked.

"Sasuke, you attacked us earlier. Obviously you can't be safe as long as you have that." Kenji said. "You hurt me and you almost hurt Sakura. The curse mark is dangerous we have to tell the teachers!" Kenji whispered.

"If you can handle it I can." Sasuke said. "I've said this before. I'm an avenger. Becoming a Chunin doesn't matter to me. But the question I want to answer, "Am I strong?" By fighting those who are strong. And. . . They're here. That includes you, Kenji." he said to her.

"Revenge doesn't matter. . . Sasuke, why can't you just think? Feeling strong is fine but your vengeance is taking over your life. Your comrades are much more important than your revenge." she told him.

"Sasuke teme!" Naruto scolded him. "Sakura-chan's worried about you here and all you care about is-!"

"Naruto." Sasuke interrupted him. "I want to fight you too." he said.

Somewhere inside Naruto's heart happiness bursted in.

"Alright everyone's staying in the game. Let's do this!" Kenji smiled brightly showing her teeth. The kunoichi on Kabuto's team was staring at her. "Now all we gotta do is-CRAP!" Kenji looked in a different direction.

Her team turned to where she was facing. They saw one of Kabuto's teammate staring at them, her red pupil less eyes glared at them fiercely. "Who's that?" Sasuke whispered but Kenji didn't answer.

The third exam was expected to has a lot less people so they had to have preliminaries to get people out. Examinees were allowed to drop out at this moment. Kabuto raised his hand and withdrew from the exam.

The matches would be randomly selected on an electronic board, whichever two names were picked would fight in a match. The first match was Akado Yoroi vs Uchiha Sasuke.

"Hn, you'd think it'd be too soon." Sasuke thought.

Kenji crossed her arms. "Just remember Sasuke if you can't beat this guy you won't stand a chance against me!" she said with a grin.

"Uruse." he told her and she got depressed. Everyone except Sasuke and Yoroi went upstairs.

"The first match will be Akado Yoroi vs Uchiha Sasuke." Hayate announced. "Are there any objections?" he asked.

"No!" Sasuke and Yoroi said in unison. Sasuke's curse mark stabbed him with pain. "The pain won't go away. . ." Sasuke thought.

"Well, that's a great start. . ." Kenji thought. "If that curse mark goes off during the match it's over for him." she thought and she looked at Yoroi, his chakra network system. "This guy doesn't have much chakra left or maybe any at all." she thought.

"Begin." Hayate started the match.

"Let's go!" Yoroi said and made a hand seal.

**! **Kenji's expression changed from bored to serious. Yoroi put his hand in his ninja tool pouch and Sasuke took out a kunai knife.

Yoroi threw shurikens at him and Sasuke blocked them with his kunai. But his curse mark acted up and he stumbled down. He was about to get punched by Yoroi before he dodged and put him in an armlock.

"Yatta!" Naruto shouted.

"Matte!" Kenji said, her fists were clenching the rail and she was leaning over it like Naruto was. Yoroi grabbed onto Sasuke's shirt.

"My strength. . ." Sasuke said feeling weaker.

Kenji saw Sasuke's chakra flowing to Yoroi's hand and into his own chakra network system. Yoroi raised his fist and hit Sasuke freeing himself. He jumped back and Sasuke sat up twitching with little energy.

Yoroi ran to him and latched his hand onto Sasuke's forehead. Sasuke's arm fell limb beside him. Kakashi's eye widened and everyone watched Sasuke being drained of his strength.

"W-what's happening?!" Naruto asked.

"Sasuke's chakra is being taken from him." Kenji answered. "That guy can somehow absorb chakra. Any physical contact and he can completely steal someone's chakra. As he gets stronger Sasuke gets weaker." she explained.

"But can't Sasuke just use ninjutsu?" Naruto asked.

"Normally, yeah. But in that state he's in it's impossible, even the Sharingan." Kenji answered. "Which only leaves him to fight hand to hand." she concluded.

"Kono yaro!" Sasuke shouted and violently kicked Yoroi off. He was sent many meters away. "That was close!" Sasuke thought and sat up.

"Relax, I'll end this quickly." Yoroi said and got his palm ready for chakra suction. He came running towards Sasuke. **Cue Bad situation.**

Sasuke reacted to his attacks with sloppy dodging. "He wants close combat. . . What should I do!?" Sasuke thought. Naruto scolded him to try harder, Sasuke looked at Lee watching from the second floor.

**! **"Souka!" Sasuke got an idea. Yoroi ran at him again, this time Sasuke dodged him more smoothly. He quickly crouched down low making it look like he disappeared.

Kenji smiled, "Do it." she said and Sasuke kicked Yoroi into the air. Sasuke jumped up and appeared behind him. But in the air Sasuke's body went numb and his curse mark started to cover him. Everyone saw it especially Naruto.

_"Ahh!" Kenji got punched in the jaw and fell on the ground. Her head started bleeding again. Sasuke put one hand beside her head and raised his fist next to him. He extended his fist down towards her face with dangerous strength._

_Kenji caught his forearm an inch away from her. His arm was shaking while being squeezed by her hands._

Kenji was watching with her arms crossed. Then she was shocked to see that the curse mark was completely repelled.

Cue Strong and Strike. Sasuke started kicking Yoroi in midair and forced him downward. He landed a final blow to the ground, "Shishi rendan!" he beat Yoroi. Hayate declared Sasuke the winner of the first match.

* * *

**Whaddup! I haven't updated in a couple months because of H-E double hockey stick. A.K.A school, I hate it. I hate it so much. My updates will be less frequent, gomen! I don't like to keep you guys waiting. This arc will explain Kenji's past if you're interested keep reading!**


	26. Senju Teruko

Senju Teruko

"Looks like he won." Kenji thought. Kakashi escorted Sasuke away and Naruto became curious.

"Oi Sakura." he said and Sakura turned to him.

"Did you see some kind of werid wound on Sasuke's neck?" Naruto asked her. Sakura went blank, Kenji stepped in.

"Yeah, Orochimaru branded it on him. While you were out cold Sasuke attacked us. He's not safe to be around." Kenji said. "You should've seen Sakura's sissy look then! It was great!" she whispered to him.

"Umm, now then. We'll get right to it and begin the second match." Hayate said. Everyone watched the electronic board shuffle through names. It stopped on Zaku Abumi vs Aburame Shino.

"Speaking of which, how did they survive?" Sakura asked. The Sound Genin team all had stab wounds,

"They probably cheated their way out of that forest." Kenji answered. Zaku and Shino faced each other in the arena. Kenji saw that Zaku's arms were being slung.

Hayate started the match and got out of the way. "Hey, Sakura. Do you remember when that guy broke his arms or something?" Kenji asked Sakura.

"Huh? Now that you mention it. I can't remember him breaking his arms. . . Why are they in a sling?" Sakura asked.

"If you fight here you'll be finished. Withdraw!" Shino demanded his opponent. Zaku didn't listen to his warning and brought out one of his arms. He tried to attack with one arm. Air blasted out from him palm again and Shino fell flat on his face.

The audience from Konoha started to get worried. The arena become very dusty and Zaku was sure he was winning. "Hey, get up!" he said.

Shino stood up and when the dust cleared everyone could see insects crawling out from Shino's body and all over the arena. "These things are called "Kikaichu" they attack their prey in groups and eat chakra." Shino told him. "When attacked by this multitude. . . Make no mistake, you're finished." he said

Zaku growled at him. "If you don't like that, give up. That would be in your best interests. If you use your left arm technique on me, I'll simultaneously have the bugs exploit the opening from behind. Conversely, if you use your technique on the bugs, I'll simultaneously exploit the opening." Shino said. "Either way, you won't be able to get through this." he deduced and made the tiger seal. "An ace in the hole is something you set aside." he said.

Zaku aimed his left hand at Shino. "Don't underestimate me!" he yelled and aimed his right hand at the insects. "An ace in the hole is something you set aside, right?!" Zaku yelled.

**! **Shino was shocked that his statement was thrown back at him like that.

"Nani?! He could already use his right arm?!" Kiba exclaimed.

"I knew it. He was faking it this whole time." Sakura said.

Zaku was ready to blast both Shino and the insects. Then a lot of chakra dispersed into the air from Zaku's arms.

**! **Kenji gasped.

Zaku groaned. "My arms!" he screamed and looked at his palms. There were loads of insects crawling into his air tubes. Shino appeared behind him, when Zaku tried to attack him physically Shino punched him in the face and Zaku fell to the ground. Hayate decided that Shino was the winner and Zaku was taken away. Shino started walking back upstairs.

"Suge, I never knew he was that strong." Kenji said, she watched Shino walk up.

"Phew, he really gives me a chill." Kurenai thought. "But he's much better than that girl." she thought as she threateningly looked at Kenji.

Kenji noticed her and looked down shamefully. "What!? So Shino, you were that strong, were you!? Dang it!" Naruto exclaimed. Sakura had her hands close to her chest.

"I thought he was a creepy person from long before, but. . ." she said.

"Umm, now then, I would like to get right to the next match." Hayate said.

Then Kakashi appeared behind his team. "Yo." he said.

"Kakashi Sensei!" Naruto said.

"Huh, someone conveniently takes a whole match just to take care of Sasuke." Kenji said.

"Well, I ran into a small thing. . ." Kakashi lied. "I don't think I should tell her what really happened." he thought.

"What about Sasuke-kun? Is he ok?" Sakura asked.

"Well, he's fine. He's sleeping soundly in the infirmary." Kakashi answered. Sakura sighed in relief. "However, with Anbu ops standing as guards. . ." Kakashi thought.

"Oh!" Naruto uttered. The electronic board said Senju Teruko vs Kankuro. Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi looked at Kenji.

"Na-Nani!? What are you guys looking at _me_ for?" she asked.

Kabuto's teammate, Teruko walked downstairs. Kankuro also started walking, the kunoichi that was going to fight had long white hair and red eyes. She wore a blue long sleeved shirt with a high collar that covered her mouth from a normal angle and dark brown pants. Her collar also had the Senju clan crest on it. She wore dark grey ninja sandals and her headband was tied around her forehead. The knot was visible at the back of her head.

"That girl. . ." Kakashi said.

"Huh? You know her too?" Sakura asked.

"Well, I ran into her a while back. . ." Kakashi answered.

"How badly did you lose?" Kenji asked.

"She had me on my hands and knees." he admitted.

"That bad?" Naruto asked with a drop of sweat.

"Tch! She's just a pretty face, she's not gonna put up much of a fight. In that case. . ." Kankuro thought and set his possession on his back down. "I'll end this quickly with my trump card." he said.

Teruko furrowed her brows she took out a kunai knife and flipped it in her hand. She bent her knees and stood in a stance. She and Kankuro glared intensely at each other.

"Now, start!" Hayate started the third match.

Teruko instantly stabbed Kankuro's hand with her kunai. "She's fast!" he thought. Then she pointed the blade up and raised her hand with her knife slicing right up his face. He fell back dropping his bandaged wrapped tool.

Sakura and Naruto gasped. Teruko flipped her knife to her side and started walking, she stepped past Kankuro's tool and stopped in front of him. She used her foot to turn him over. She gasped.

"Now it's my turn." an inhuman voice said.

Teruko threw the kunai at his face and then she jumped back escaping a puppet's arms. "That was close." she thought.

The bandages unravelled revealing Kankuro controlling the puppet. "So that's his real body. . . He switched himself out." she thought.

"It's over!" Kankuro said and yanked his hand towards himself. The puppet rushed over to Teruko but she didn't budge.

"W-what is she doing!?" Naruto asked.

"This puppet. . ." Teruko said.

**?** "What is she saying?!" Kankuro thought.

"Wouldn't happen to be made of wood, would it?" she asked. The puppet suddenly stopped half a meter from her. It's stop was so sudden that her hair blew back a little.

"What!?" Kankuro tried controlling the puppet but it couldn't attack Teruko.

"That's unfortunate." Teruko said. She turned and raised her right leg. She spun it around in a roundhouse kick and smashed right through the puppet. It's pieces fell to the floor.

"That's impossible." Kankuro said.

"Now," Teruko turned around to face Kankuro. She made the hand seals boar, dog, ram and held her palm in front of her. "Suiton: Hahonryuu!" (Water style: Ripping torrent). Water spiraled in her palm and she threw it at Kankuro creating a vortex.

The water hit him and pushed him into the the wall. The wall cracked and he fell down in a puddle from Teruko's jutsu.

"What a wimp." Teruko said.

Hayate looked at the setting. "The winner of the 3rd match is Senju Teruko." he announced.

* * *

**Whaddup! I decided to write out Shino's fight because I think he deserves way more attention than what he gets. I'm gonna skip Sakura and Ino's fight cuz I thought it was lame. :P **


	27. Gross!

Gross!

"That was so fast." Sakura said. Teruko looked up at them, Kenji hid behind Kakashi.

"Kenji? How's she related to you?" Kakashi asked her.

"W-we shared the same parents." Kenji answered.

**! ! !** "Ehhhhhhh!?" Sakura and Naruto yelled.

"_That's_ the sister you told us about!?" Naruto asked looking back down at the ring. Teruko started walking up the stairs.

"Why has she been glaring at you?" Sakura asked and Kenji cried.

"She hates me!" she said.

"Oh. . ." Sakura uttered.

"But I do want to talk to her. . ." Kenji came out from behind Kakashi.

"That's dangerous you know." Kakashi warned her.

"That's true but. . . I want to think that she'll accept my apology. . ." Kenji said and disappeared. She appeared in front Teruko while she was still walking upstairs.

Kenji squeezed her fists by her sides and gulped. "Hi, Aneki!" Kenji waved, Teruko stopped at the last step. Kenji looked up at her.

"This seems kind of. . . Intense. . ." Sakura said watching with Kakashi and Naruto from a distance.

Kenji looked straight into Teruko's eyes. "She looks pissed off. . ." Kenji thought. "About what happened 6 years ago I'm s-" Kenji tried to talk and got slapped in the face. She backed away with her head down and her hand on her cheek.

"You're in my way." Teruko said and walked past her.

Kenji walked back to her team. "That could've gone better." Kakashi said.

"Turns out she holds a grudge." Kenji said.

"How's your cheek?" Sakura asked her.

"It stings." Kenji answered and took her hand off her face.

"It's bleeding a little." Sakura said.

"It's ok. I told you, my wounds heal quickly." Kenji told her.

"Even so, you're filthy." Sakura said.

"Hey! Don't forget who saved your behind from those Sound ninjas!" Kenji talked back.

"Just come on." Sakura said and dragged her by the wrist. In the restrooms Sakura was smoothing out her hair with water. Kenji was washing her hands with her jacket tied around her waist.

"Anno," Sakura said and Kenji faced her. "Can I ask what Orochimaru meant when he said he changed your life?" Sakura asked her. Kenji remembered that time from the Forest of Death.

_"Your teammate right there didn't always have her Rinnegan, she awakened it when her life changed forever. By me, Orochimaru."_

Kenji stopped moving and awkward silence lingered in the room. Kenji turned off the water and put her hands on the edges of the sink. "A long time ago, a weak little brat escaped from Hell. . ." she started. "But she had a dangerous power. It was because her body was altered by pain and torture. She lost what was most important to her heart, what was a pathethic kid supposed to do?" Kenji said.

"This story is important to shinobi like us you wanna know why?" she asked. "Because there's an important moral that teaches fools like that girl to grow a backbone. You must be able to protect what's precious to you. Because in the end, _you mean nothing_!" she told Sakura.

"What happened to that girl?" Sakura asked.

"She died. Beforehand she was thrown in a cage with nothing to drink or eat all except for a living snake." Kenji said.

**! **Sakura's eye widened "Gross!" she shrieked.

"The venomous snake she consumed killed her by the time she escaped." Kenji told her.

"You're scared aren't you, Sakura?" Ino interrupted. Kenji turned around to face her, "I saw you get slapped back there. The way you are now, you won't get past the preliminaries." Ino taunted her.

"Hey! Teruko has nothing to do with this! And I'm more than qualified to become a Chunin!" Kenji pointed at her.

"Yeah right, says the one who flunked the kunoichi classes." Ino told her.

"And Sakura. . . Even Sasuke got carried away, you should drop out. The people here are _monsters_." Ino said looking at Kenji on that last word.

"Actually, I can't wait for my turn." Sakura told.

"You really wanna be pork chop now don't ya, Ino." Kenji grumbled (Ino means boar).

"Hm?" Ino asked.

"Oh nothing." Kenji said and left the restroom.

The electronic board shuffled through names and the 4th match was Haruno Sakura vs Yamanaka Ino. Hayate started the match and Sakura and Ino both held back. During their fight they remembered one of their kunoichi lessons.

_"Kunoichi must obtain a wide range of knowledge and education as a woman not just ninja techniques. If you cannot act like a normal woman when you are in enemy territory, you will have trouble spying. Today's topic is flower arrangement, now everyone pick the flowers you want." the Sensei asked._

_"Haiii~" the students said and scattered around the field._

_Ino and Sakura had a friendly convo. Kenji stood by herself looking at the field, "Oiii!" someone called. Kenji turned and someone threw grass in her face. She coughed and fell back._

_"Hahaha! Freak!" a girl with a followers laughed at her. Kenji stopped coughing and looked at the bullies. _

_"My parents say to stay away from you and that you didn't come from this village, your family must've kicked you out because of how hideous you are." she laughed. _

_"Uruse! I can become the Hokage unlike you idiots!" Kenji shouted._

_"An outsider who fails at being a kunoichi and has no chance of being the Hokage! I wonder who's really the idiot?" the bully said. "Ah!" she screamed._

_A couple of bloody teeth fell on the grass. "A real ninja would've been able to react to a punch like that." Kenji said. All the girls backed away from her. "Buzz off!" Kenji shouted at them and they ran away._

_Kenji started climbing a tree and when she got on a high branch she looked at her hands. They were covered in cuts now, she crossed her arms and fell asleep in the tree._

_"That creepy girl is in that tree." one of the students said. Sakura and Ino overheard and saw Kenji sleeping during class. _

_"I'm going to get Sensei." Ino said._

_"U-un." Sakura said and stayed while Ino left. The teacher came to Kenji's tree with her hands on her hips she banged on the tree and Kenji's eyes opened._

_She sat up with her legs on each side of the tree. She rubbed her eye, "Ohayo. . ." Kenji yawned. _

_"Ohayo ja nai!" the teacher scolded. "Senju Kenji! You have the lowest grades in the class and this is exactly why!" the Sensei said. "You can't sleep during your class!" she said._

_"What class? Flowering arranging is useless when someone has a kunai to your neck!" Kenji talked back. _

_"Don't you understand!? You are the worst kunoichi! You have the lowest grades and you're dead last!" the teacher said. Kenji slammed the side of her fist on the tree trunk. _

_"If kunoichi waste time sprucing then I don't care if I'm the worst!" Kenji said._

_"Kenji! You will serve detention! Now get down from that tree before I call the Anbu to get you down!" the teacher said._

_Kenji jumped down and landed on both feet with her knees bent. She stood up and the whole class all looked at her unpleasantly. "Mattaku!" the Sensei thought. "I still don't understand why the Hokage let her enroll in the Academy." she thought._

_"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Kenji asked. "I don't get it!" she stomped her foot on the grass. "I don't get why you guys treat me like I'm some sort of plague! I'm human too!" Kenji said and ran away._

In the forth preliminary match Ino and Sakura punched each other out so the match had no winner. They were carried up to the second floor and their teams rushed to them. Ino and Sakura woke up and Ino acknowledged Sakura's growth in strength. _  
_

"Not bad, Sakura." Kenji said sitting next to Sakura. Kenji rested her elbow on her knee and supported her head.

"You again?" Ino asked.

"I lied earlier." Kenji admitted.

"Huh?" Sakura asked.

"That girl really didn't die." Kenji said to her.

"Really? How?" Sakura said with curiosity.

"After she was forced to eat that snake, her parents comforted her. Her stomach was pumped and she had to drink an antidote twice a day." Kenji said.

"I see. That's a relief!" Sakura said happily. Kenji was smiling with a peaceful aura.


	28. Naruto's victory and Kenji's power

Naruto's victory and Kenji's power

The fifth match was Tenten vs Temari. Tenten used her strongest moves but Temari still won with almost no effort. Lee jumped down to avenge Tenten but Guy stopped him.

Shikamaru and Kin were fought next. Shikamaru used strategy to beat her and knocked her out. Kin was dragged off.

The electronic board was flipping through names again for the 7th match. "This year's rookies seem to be interesting." Neji said.

He looked around. So far Sasuke, Shino, Teruko, Temari, and Shikamaru were going to be in the final phase and the ones that still remained were Naruto, Kenji, Kiba, Choji, Lee, Gaara, Dosu, and himself.

The electronic board showed Uzumaki Naruto vs Inuzuka Kiba. "It's here, it's here, it's here! It's finally my turn believe it!" Naruto shouted enthusiastically.

"Good luck, Naruto!" Kenji told him. With Ino and Sakura watching too a lot of people doubted Naruto. He and Kiba met in the arena. "I got sick of waiting! It's finally my turn to shine believe it!" Naruto cheered.

"Sore wa kochi no serifu da! (That's my line!) With you as my opponent we're bound to win!" Kiba pointed at him and Naruto scowled.

"Naruto-kun!" Kenji called him. Naruto looked back up to her on the second floor. Kenji used her thumb to point to her headband and she grinned. Naruto did the same thing back.

"What was that?" Kiba asked.

"An inside message." Naruto answered him.

"That's right it goes back to the time we first fought Zabuza." Kenji thought. "Naruto lost his headband, but I gave it back to him along with his confidence. Now whenever we point to our headbands it means to become the hero and fight!" she explained in her mind.

Kiba set his dog next to him. "Hey! Don't bring your puppy in here he'll get in the way of the match!" Naruto pointed at him.

"You fool. Akamaru's gonna fight with me." Kiba said.

"Hey, hey is that ok?" Naruto asked Hayate.

"Hai, animal and insects are treated the same as ninja tools. There's no problem." Hayate answered.

"Fine. This is the perfect handicap I tell ya!" Naruto said.

"Fine. Akamaru don't lay a paw in this I'm gonna fight him on my own." Kiba told his dog.

"Naruto! Don't lose to a guy like that!" Sakura yelled down.

"Take 'im down!" Kenji cheered.

Kiba remembered Naruto being the laughing stock at the Academy. Hayate started the match and Kiba started on an all four jutsu and already got a clean hit.

"Fast!" Kenji and Sakura said. People started mocking Naruto's skills again because of his lack of skill in the Academy.

"Sakura, don't even think about that." Kenji told her.

"Yeah, that's right." Sakura agreed. She remembered Naruto's dream and his ninja way.

Naruto stood up from Kiba's first hit. "Don't. . . Underestimate me! The real fight starts now!" he said determined. Naruto's bold statement got everyone's attention and Kiba decided to fight with Akamaru.

Kiba threw smoke bombs and the fight begun Naruto at first had trouble because of Kiba and Akamaru's teamwork. But he ended up farting in Kiba's face and winning with a spin off of the lions barrage called the Naruto barrage. He came back up feeling better than ever and everyone gave him some inner acknowledgement.

"Now I'm hyped up!" Kenji thought.

The board flipped through names for the 8th match. It stopped on Senju Kenji vs Hyuga Neji. Everyone took a minute just to look at the board.

"Yoshaaa!" Kenji cheered and pumped her fist.

"This is an interesting match-up." the 3rd Hokage thought. Guy and Lee stood near Squad 7 to watch the match.

In the arena Kenji and Neji stood across from each other. "I never thought I'd be fighting you," Neji said and glanced at the board. "So that's your name. . . Kenji, what a stupid name." he said.

Teruko was watching from above. Kenji had her arms crossed, "This is the perfect chance. I get to show him a piece of my mind." she thought.

"Now is the time to forfeit. You'll will most certainly die." Neji said and opened his Byakugan. Kenji blinked in surprise, "That's. . ." she thought.

Neji got a good look at his opponent, "What immense chakra. . . Is that even possible?" he thought.

"HM! I feel bad, Kakashi. Your poor student there has some bad luck." Guy told Kakashi. "There's no way she could beat a Hyuga." he said.

"Give up!" Neji ordered. "You're not fit to be a shinobi. You may be stubborn, but it's not enough to save you!" he said.

Kenji uncrossed her arms. "Listen, the reason I entered the Chunin exams is because of people like you." Kenji told him. "To show everyone how awesome I am!" she put her hand on her bicep.

**! ! ! !** Her statement shocked many people mainly the Jonins.

"And I'll prove how a dead last like me has the potential to become the Hokage!" she pointed at him.

"Wha!?" Ino said.

"What a fool." Asuma commented. But the 3rd Hokage just laughed.

"That's impossible, failures cannot be the Hokage. Cocky people like you are just dogs that are all bark." Neji insulted her.

**! **Naruto got a shock.

"I can see many things with my Byakugan, including how weak you are." he said.

"Byakugan?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah. . . That's the Hyuga clan's Kekkei Genkai. A dojutsu." Kakashi told her.

"A factor that will defeat her." Guy said. "Neji's already defeating her right now." he added.

"Humans are humans, failures are failures, and monsters will always be monsters. People do not change. That is fate!" Neji said seriously. Naruto got mad and clenched his fist.

"Come again! I didn't catch that!" Kenji made fun of him and he scowled.

**Cue Strong and Strike. **"Kono. . ." he growled.

"Oh yeah. . ." Kenji said and her hand behind her back where a few shurikens were ready for her. "You want me to beat you up." she bent her knees in a stance. "Put your guard up pretty boy! This is what you get for purposely trying to tick me off!" she told him.

"You see," Kakashi got Guy's attention. "Intimidation doesn't work on Kenji." Kakashi said. Neji also got in a stance with his palm stretched out.

"Then I have no choice. I'll kill you with my bare hands and show everyone here how worthless you are!" Neji threatened.

"URUSE~!" Naruto shouted. "You! Just shut up!" he yelled at Neji. "Kenji, take 'im down!" he said quoting her from earlier.

"Right!" she said.

"There's power in her voice." the 3rd Hokage noticed. "Just by watching her, I feel like she's going to win." he thought.


	29. Your Fate

Your Fate

Hayate had started the match. Kenji and Neji stood in their stances across from each other. Kenji threw her shurikens at him, Neji dodged them smoothly and ran towards her.

"Here he comes!" she thought. Neji came and pushed his palm out towards her. Kenji reacted by just sidestepping his attack. It just grazed her upper arm.

**!** "That hurt!" she thought and got behind him and jumped back.

Neji turned around and saw Kenji pressing her opposite hand on the spot where she was lightly grazed. "What's going on!? My arm feels. . .!" she thought. **Cue Glued State.**

"Have you figured it out yet?" Neji asked her.

"Hey! What happened there!? She was hardly scratched!" Naruto exclaimed.

"No, even light contact like that will hurt." Lee said.

"Eh? How?" Sakura asked.

"His taijutsu." Lee said. "This is why the Hyuga are called Konoha's noble family." he added.

"The Hyuga clan has a special taijutsu style passed on from generation to generation." Guy started. "The taijutsu style Lee and I are experts in focuses on external damage, such as attacking a person's bones. On the other hand the Hyuga taijutsu style tries to attack the chakra network system and cause internal damage. We call that Jyuuken." Guy explained.

Kenji tried to lift her hand off. "It doesn't feel like any bones are broken. That Byakugan of his. . . What is it?" she thought.

"Well, there's no way you can train your internal organs. If you're hit you'll get hurt no matter how tough you are." Kakashi said.

"What's the chakra network system?" Naruto asked.

"It's similar to how you blood vessels. They're like these pipes where chakra flows with your body." Lee explained.

"So it's like a path for chakra." Naruto said.

"The chakra network system is closely intertwined with your internal organs. The Hyuga release chakra from their hands and use it like a weapon to damage their opponent's internal organs." Lee explained.

"But how does he do it? You can't even see the chakra network system." Sakura wondered.

"The Byakugan can see them." Kakashi answered her.

Kenji brought her hands together she made the hand signs tiger, ox, dog, rabbit, and snake. "Fuuton: Daitoppa!" (Wind style: Great Breakthrough!). A large and powerful burst of wind came from her mouth.

It hit Neji, he shielded his face. Kenji looked into the smoke. . .

**!** She gasped and Neji landed two fingertips on a specific spot in her shoulder. "He went straight for that spot!" she thought. Neji bent his arm and then extended it back out below her neck releasing chakra.

Kenji was pushed back, she landed her feet down and the soles of her feet skidded on the floor. She stopped and put her hands on her bent knees. She panted and blood fell to the floor. "I can't gather chakra." she said. Neji closed his Byakugan.

"What just happened?" Naruto asked.

"He closed Kenji's tenketsu points." Kakashi said. "The chakra network system has 361 chakra points but their width is that of a needle. If you hit them accurately you can increase or decrease chakra flow." he told them.

"Oi, bakemono." Neji called. "Give up." he said. Kenji kept panting. "It's just impossible for you to become a shinobi and if you do many people will despise you. The life of a deformed outcast like you has no purpose. That is your fate, you were destined to be a failure." he said. Kenji just looked down.

**Cue Sadness and Sorrow piano.**

"Neji is Konoha's strongest Genin, a genius." Lee said.

"The way things are, Kenji will not win." Sakura said.

"Neji's just too strong for her." Guy said.

"She can! She can beat him!" Naruto yelled he had flashing memories of how hard she had worked during these exams. "She's strong. . ." he clenched his fist.

"He's got a point." Sakura thought. _"If I let my fear cloud my goal I can't protect my comrades." "My comrades are. . . precious." _she remembered Kenji's words. "If Kenji was weak she wouldn't have done all that for us and kept going." Sakura thought.

Kenji was completely silent, "Fate. . ." she thought. **Cue Alone.**

_It was the third Graduation exam, Kenji was sitting in her seat at the back of the classroom. "When your name is called come to the classroom next door. There you will be asked to do the Bunshin no jutsu." Iruka announced to the class. _

_It was Kenji's turn and she made her way into the classroom where Iruka and Mizuki Sensei sat. They had many headbands on their desk. Kenji spread her feet, closed her eyes, and put her hands together. "Bunshin no jutsu!" she made six other clones next to her. _

_"That's good, you may disperse your clones now." Iruka told her. _

_"Hai." Kenji said and her clones disappeared in smoke. _

_"Iruka Sensei her grades these past years have been depressing. She's dead last, the worst kunoichi. I suggest we hold her back another 2 years before she's Genin." Mizuki discussed. _

_This surprised Kenji in a bad way. "I disagree, she replicated perfectly with good stamina." Iruka opposed politely. "Also, she replicated twice the amount of clones than the rest of our graduates so far." he added, he looked back at her__. "Congratulations you pass." he said._

_Kenji grinned with blushing cheeks. "Yatta!" she cheered. She came out of the classroom with her headband in hand and then she stopped right outside the door. Kurenai was standing in the hallway in front of her._

_"So you became a Genin. . ." Kurenai said looking at her headband. "Watch your back, now that you've made the wrong choice and became a ninja the world will not lend you any mercy." she told her. Kurenai turned her back on her. "Don't forget who you are, you'll meet a terrible fate. I know it." she said._

Then Kenji fell on her knees, she started to fall.

Sakura and Naruto gasped. "I knew she'd lose." Asuma said.

Then Kenji slammed her fist in the ground. She punched herself a hole and dust flew up from the impact.

**! ! ! !** Everyone watching was shocked.

Kenji planted one foot in the ground and then the other using her fist for balance.

"Kono. . ." Neji said scowling.

"Here's somethin' you oughta know." Kenji said and pulled her fist out of the floor. "I never. Give. Up!" she said. "And I sure don't back out of a fight!" she said.

"You're so foolish! Just look at yourself! Give up, now!" Neji ordered her.

"Quit sayin' that!" she told him. "I won't give up! And I never go back on my word!" she yelled. "Sore wa. . ." (That's. . .) she lifted her head up. "Atashi no nindō da!" (My ninja way!) she grinned proudly.

Neji furrowed his eyebrows and stood in a unique stance. One arm was stretched in front and one in back. He had his Byakugan locked on her. A green trigram lit underneath him and Kenji.

"Juukenhou: Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou!" (Gentle fist art: 8 trigrams 64 palms!) Neji said. "2 palms!" he struck her twice, she groaned. "4 palms! 8 palms! 16 palms! 32 palms!" every hit shoved chakra into Kenji violently. "64 palms!" his final strike ended with the back of his left palm on her upper chest and his back right palm on her torso.

Chakra spread in her body from his hands like a ripple. She was blasted back, then her body turned into lightning.

**! !** Neji widened his eyes.

"Whoa! Chill out, it's just a clone." Kenji said, she had her feet stuck to the wall with chakra. She jumped down and faced him again. "I guess even your Byakugan can't see through misdirection." she said.

"When did you-!?" Neji growled.

"I switched out at the beginning right after you hit me." Kenji said. Neji remembered, after he had grazed her arm in the beginning of the match she got behind him. That was when she switched herself out with a lighting shadow clone.

"Now I've learned your fighting style and how to counter it." Kenji said.

"She had a plan all along!?" Neji thought.

"I was serious you know. I'm gonna kick your teeth in." she said and cracked her knuckles.


	30. Neji vs Kenji

Neji vs Kenji

"I'm gonna kick your teeth in." she cracked her knuckles. A long black rod slipped out of her sleeve and she caught it in her fist.

"Why can't you face the facts? It's not your destiny to be a shinobi." Neji said.

"You've got issues you know that?" Kenji said and ran towards him with her rod in hand. "It's always destiny this destiny that!" she said as she ran towards him.

Neji moved his palm back ready to hit her, when she was in arm's length he forced his palm out and she blocked it with her rod.

He used his other hand to try and hit her but she caught his hand. His fingers were sticking out of her fist.

Neji scowled and then his hand made a cracking noise. Many people in the audience gasped and Kenji kneed him in the gut. Neji lurched forward and Kenji smacked him across the face with her bar. He was sent back and he got on one knee.

"What happened?" he thought.

"Not looking so hot there are you?" Kenji asked. "Your style is about blowing chakra out of your hands into your opponent. Gee, I wonder what effect that'll have on a rod that absorbs chakra?" she said.

**! **Neji was shocked. "Hehe~" Kenji chuckled. She bent her elbow across her face. "THINK FAST!" she yelled and threw her rod at him. It came spinning towards him and he didn't react on time. He got hit and fell on the floor.

Lee gasped and Guy was shocked. "Why is Neji losing?" Guy asked.

"Well, I thought this would happen. . ." Kakashi said. Guy faced him, Kakashi eyed him with his hands in his pockets. "Look closely at her eyes." he said and Guy took a closer look. "Her eyes are a huge advantage. It's why this village neglects her as a comrade because they're afraid of her." he said.

"What are they?" Lee asked.

"Like Neji, she has a Kekkei Genkai in the form of a Dojutsu." Kakashi started. "There are 3 Great Dojutsus, the Sharingan that hails from the Uchiha clan the weakest of the 3 eyes. The Byakugan that comes from the Hyuga clan which Neji is a part of, an eye that exceeds the Sharingan." he explained. "Then there's the Rinnegan, the strongest one of all which Kenji happens to wield." he said.

"Where does it come from?" Lee asked.

"Well. . . I don't know." Kakashi answered.

"Eh!? Not even you know?" Sakura asked.

"Just think about it, the Rinnegan's never been seen in this village before. We don't even know where Kenji came from." Kakashi told her. "We've tried to learn about it from her but she doesn't trust anyone with information about her eyes. Can't blame her though, years ago people tried to gouge them out." he said.

"That's terrible." Sakura said.

"All we know is that the Rinnegan is very powerful. Neji can't compare to her strength." Kakashi said.

"Oi oi! Stand up will ya! I haven't even used my favorite jutsus yet!" Kenji said. Neji got up and got in his stance panting.

Kenji made a lightning clone and she flipped out kunai knife. **Cue the Raising Fighting Spirit.**

She and her clone ran towards him, her clone stretched her knife towards him. Neji pushed her wrist away and the clone came back around and made a deep cut in Neji's shoulder. **  
**

"Now that I know his style, I can counter it if I just avoid getting hit." she thought and jumped back while throwing her kunai. Neji was too busy with the clone.

Kenji made the rat, tiger, dog, ox, rabbit, tiger hand seals. "Katon: Hosenka no jutsu!" a bunch of fireballs shot from her mouth at random. Right towards Neji, "Gotcha." she said.

Then a dome of chakra completely deflected her jutsu and her clone disappeared.

"What the!?" she said. Neji stopped with a slow and smooth spin. "Does this guy have eyes on the back of his head?" Kenji wondered aloud.

"I told you this before you can't fight destiny!" Neji said.

"He's releasing chakra from his hands, a lot." she thought and looked at his chakra network system. "The flow of his chakra is getting slower, he's putting all his strength into one strike." she thought.

She grabbed a chakra blade this time and ran to him. Neji stood in his stance again ready to strike, Kenji's eyebrows furrowed. "He's aiming for my vital organs." she thought. She blocked his chakra infused hits with her blade.

She flipped the blade down and got down on one knee while bringing her hand down. She stabbed her blade into his foot. Blood squirted onto her face and Neji scowled in pain. Kenji mercilessly yanked her blade out of his foot and hoisted her blade back.

She thrust it at him but he caught it in his right hand. "Shimatta!" she darned. Neji lounged his left palm towards her very quickly. His other hand snapped her blade.

He landed his palm on her body and chakra blew her bangs. "Ggh!" Kenji groaned and dropped her blade out of shock. Neji missed her heart and his hand landed on her breast.

"He's dead." Kakashi said.

. . . Kenji grabbed Neji's bad hand and pushed it off. She dusted off her chest and stretched her arm out to him. She opened her palm out.

Everything was silent. "Shinra. . . Tensei." a dangerous force came from her hand it blew her hair and clothes back, Neji being the only target was blasted back so hard that he crashed off of the wall. His headband fell out of its knot and his low ponytail came out releasing his hair. His Byakugan wasn't on his face anymore and lines of blood had dripped down his face.

The dust cleared and Neji looked up at the silhouette standing in front of him. The pitch black silhouette's left eye was the Rinnegan. Neji flinched out of fear.

Kenji's stamped her foot on the bleeding wound on Neji's foot. He gritted his teeth and shut his eyes. Then she grabbed his collar and lifted him off the ground in her fist. She punched him in the gut and he coughed out blood. She opened her fist and let go of his collar.

"You and I are very different, you're a genius. You come from a noble family along with all the praise and admiration one could get. I'm a lonely dead last." she said. "I failed the graduation exam twice and nearly failed the third time. The kunoichi classes just never appealed to me so I was the worst." she said.

"That's your destiny. Why fight it?" Neji yelled at her.

"That's because. . ." she put her hands together in the ram seal. "They all called me a failure." she answered and chakra started flowing around her. Neji opened his Byakugan. "I guess even geniuses like you don't know. You have the power to shape your own destiny." she said.

"This chakra. . .!" he panicked consciously.

"I'll show you my power." she said and a large amount of chakra blew upwards like wind.

Her team watched in amazement. "She's grown. . ." Kakashi thought. He remembered her struggling to climb the trees and sulking. "She's like Naruto and Sasuke, they'll just keep growing won't they?" he thought.

Teruko was watching the fight carefully. Kenji brought her hands out and lifted her leg up with her foot above her head. She tried to kick Neji but he dodged to the side.

She cracked the ground and turned her head towards him. Neji scowled, he was really beat up. She came up and tried to punch him but he moved his head down and dodged.

"I've got one more move." he got a low stance and a green trigram lit underneath them.

"This is just like before! But his stance is a little different." Kenji thought .

"8 trigrams 128 palms!" Neji's attacks became twice as fast but Kenji was dodging it.

**!** This sparked Teruko's interest. You could barely see them move, they looked like a bunch of blurs.

"That's amazing." Lee said.

"I've never seen anyone dodge Neji's 8 trigrams. . ." Guy said.

When Neji stopped he was out of breath. "Looks like you've reached your quota." Kenji said. She punched him in his face and he fell back.

Everything became silent, then Kenji took her steps towards him. She stepped on his right wrist and put her weight on it. Neji gritted his teeth and he saw Kenji holding his headband in front of his face. She crushed the metal plate in her hand and tossed it over her shoulder.

She slipped out a chakra blade and held it above Neji ready to kill. She brought it down and suddenly stopped right in between his eyes. She sighed, "I swear I'm going soft." she said and took her foot off his wrist. "I don't really want to kill you for some reason I don't have that venom." she said.

"However," she said. "I wasn't kidding before the first exam, I'm gonna cut them off." she said.

"Cut what off?. . ." Neji asked shocked.

"Your hands, both of them." she answered and positioned her blade.

"That's cruel!" Neji said.

"Aww! That's what you get for calling me a bitch!" she said pitilessly. She was about to slice his hands.

**! ! ! ! **Her eyes widened. Asuma was behind her he had a kunai in his hand and the knife was impaled into her abdomen. He pulled it out and blood came from her mouth.

She had her hand pressed against her wound that stained her clothes. Kurenai appeared in front of her and punched her on the head knocking her out.

Hayate walked up to the scene. Neji sat up in bad shape and Kenji was unconscious and bleeding. "Kenji has been knocked out so the winner is Neji." Hayate said.

"What!?" Sakura exclaimed. She and Naruto jumped down to the arena.

"Oi! What's that for!? Kenji obviously won!" Naruto shouted.

"Yeah, the Jonins interfered with the match. So why?" Sakura questioned.

"You guys," Kakashi said grabbing their attention. "I know you two may not like it but this is how she's treated." he said lazily.

"What the heck does that mean!?" Naruto shouted.

"In order to become a Chunin you must be approved by the Jonin instructors." Kakashi started. "Kurenai and Asuma are allowed to prevent her from being a Chunin because they don't like her." he said.

"But that's an injustice. . ." Sakura said.

"You guys are it's teammates right?" Asuma asked. "Apparently you don't know how dangerous it is. This is for the sake of the village." he said with a cigar in his mouth.

"Kenji's not an "it"!" Naruto talked back.

"You saw what she did!" Neji yelled, he put his hand over his face. "That girl's not human!" he said.

Naruto gritted his teeth. "Teme!" he ran at him. Lee blocked him,

"I understand how you feel but you should fight in a proper match. Also, technically Neji was beaten." Lee said.

Kakashi stood over Kenji, "She's strong, definitely skilled enough to be a Chunin. If she's this good now, I look forward to when she's reaches her full potential." he thought. Then he turned his head to look at Teruko.


	31. Kidnapped

**Whaddup guys! Currently this is my most successful story but less than freaking 10% of you leave reviews! I mean come on! Anyone can! Speaking of reviews shout out to TheQueenYuno, THANK YOU! **

**Anyway, I hope you'll endure and enjoy this long story.**

* * *

Kidnapped

Naruto was running through the hospital halls. Kurenai also happened to be walking down the same hall. "Oi! Kurenai Sensei!" Naruto called.

Kurenai stopped walking and Naruto looked up at her seriously. "Sensei, I wanted to ask why didn't you let Kenji win that match?" Naruto asked. "She was awesome! She would've won if you hadn't knocked her out." he said. "Also. . ."

_"Kurenai and Asuma are allowed to prevent her from being a Chunin because they don't like her."_

Naruto remembered what Kakashi said. "Why do you guys hate her?" he asked. _  
_

"Naruto, no one knows where she came from. And the first thing you notice about her are those horrid eyes." Kurenai said.

"So what? I think they look so cool!" Naruto said.

"That's just it!" Kurenai yelled. "Kenji has the capability to destroy this entire village. Tell me, who would you sacrifice? Her or your comrades?" Kurenai asked.

"My comrades!" Naruto answered flatly.

"See? Now do y-"

"Because Kenji _is_ my comrade!" Naruto interrupted her.

"Why? Why are you defending her!? She's dangerous and uncontrollable!" Kurenai raised her voice.

"Sensei. . . When someone reaches your level do they start thinking like you?" Naruto asked. "Kenji would never do something like that." he said.

"Even if that's true, how do you know she can control her strength? She used to hide her eyes! She probably wanted to trick us!" Kurenai said.

"I don't think so." Naruto said and walked past her. He entered a room, he saw Kenji resting soundly on a bed. He sat down next to her, he started to remember Neji's words. _"It's just impossible for you to become a shinobi and if you do many people will despise you. The life of a deformed outcast like you has no purpose. That is your fate, you were destined to be a failure." _

Naruto squeezed his fist, "He's going to pay!" he thought. Then someone else walked in._  
_

Naruto's head jolted up and he saw Teruko. "Omae. . .!" he uttered.

"Konichiwa," she smiled and walked closer. "I'm Senju Teruko." she introduced. "Are you Kenji's friend?" she asked.

"Yeah. . ." Naruto said. "But, Kenji said that you were mad at her." he said.

"No, I don't why she thinks that." Teruko told him. "But I did give her a good scare in the exam, works every time." she smiled. "So, how close are you two?" she asked and pulled out a chair.

"We're best friends!" he proclaimed.

"Hmm." Teruko went deep in thought. "If you're best friends. . . Has she told you anything about her past? Or maybe her eyes?" she asked and Naruto didn't respond.

"I see, I'll tell you everything I know." she said. "A long time ago, I was raised just on the borderline of this village. It was a nice environment where I could practice my Kekkei Genkai in peace." she started.

"Kekkei Genkai?" Naruto asked.

"That's right, my Kekkei Genkai hasn't occurred in my family for generations. The last person who wielded it was my great-grandfather. He's history now, my Kekkei Genkai was meant to help Konoha in a time of need. So I spent almost everyday training myself and then I was ready to enroll in the Academy," she said. "But it didn't go as planned. . ." she said.

_In Konoha years ago, a pregnant woman was drinking tea on a table. She was relaxed and the setting was peaceful. "Kaa-chan!" a child's voice said. A 6 year old stood in front of her._

_"Hey, Teruko-chan." her mom smiled. _

_"Mite! Mite!" Teruko held out her cupped hands that had flowers that resembled lotuses. _

_"They're beautiful, you used your Kekkei Genkai didn't you?" the mother asked and sipped her tea._

_"Hai!" Teruko answered. _

_"Teruko-chan, at the Academy don't show your Kekkei Genkai to anyone ok?" her mom asked of her. That wasn't the answer she expected and the flowers fell to the floor. _

_"They're not the flowers I wanted to grow anyway. I wanted to grow amaryllises." Teruko said with her head down. _

_"Your father should be back soon." her mother said. _

_"Yeah, I wanna play with dad. It's so boring!" Teruko complained. _

_"Don't worry once your sister is born you'll have all the fun in the world." her mom told her. _

_"Yatta!" Teruko cheered. Then a knock came to the door. "That must be Tou-chan!" she ran to the door. _

_"Teruko! Matte!" her mother yelled. A shuriken landed on the door just before Teruko reached for it. "We don't know who that is." she said and stood up._

_"Demo. . ." Teruko said. _

_"Teruko, step back please." she asked. Teruko obeyed and her mom walked toward the door. Teruko saw a kunai slip into her right hand. She put her hand on the door knob and turned it cautiously. She opened it to reveal a certain unwanted guest._

_"Pardon the intrusion, Senju Kayoko." he addressed the mother with a creepy grin. Kayoko slammed the door shut and locked it._

_"Kuso!" she said._

_"Kaa-chan, who was that?" Teruko asked._

_"We're in trouble, we have to run!" Kayoko scolded._

_"Got it!" Teruko said, she ran and opened a drawer. She shuffled through it, "Come on! Where is it?" she panicked. Her hand touched a ninja sword and she grabbed it._

_Kayoko grabbed her hand and they ran out the back door. A sword went through the locked door and started cutting it. _

_Kayoko and Teruko were running out the back. "Kaa-chan, who was that?" Teruko asked._

_"Listen, that person. No! . . . That freak! He was exiled from Konoha years ago, my Sensei told me a lot about him. The thing he currently wants the most is the Mokuton." Kayoko said. _

_**! ! **Teruko was shocked.  
_

_"He's after her. Kuso! How did he find out!? The whole point of us living here is to keep her abilities secret." Kayoko thought. "Also, I can't fight. Not like this." she thought. _

_A large summoning snake appeared behind them. "Teruko, use the Mud wall jutsu." Kayoko said._

_Teruko held her sword between her arm and torso. She calmly made the tiger, hare, boar, and dog seals. "Doton: Doryuuheki." (Earth style: Mud wall). A rock wall blocked the snake. _

_But Orochimaru was still chasing them, he was running towards them with his arms behind him. A sword came from his mouth. _

_"The heck!?" Teruko reacted to a sword coming from a person's mouth. _

_Orochimaru cut Kayoko's leg off. "Shimatta!" she yelled and fell off the edge of the hill. _

_"Kaa-chan!" Teruko yelled and she slid down the hill. She sat down beside Kayoko, her leg was bleeding a lot. She was gritting her teeth in pain. Teruko cut Kayoko's apron and tied it around the wound. "This should help the bleeding. . ." Teruko thought. _

_Orochimaru stood before them. Teruko stood up and held her sword in her right hand. She ran a good distance from him with her arms behind her back. Orochimaru brought his fingers close to his mouth and blew a strong net of wind at her. _

_When he did his wind jutsu Teruko hid. She was small enough to hide in a hole that wasn't very deep. "If I time this right we're saved if I don't. . ." she thought. She turned around and looked right above the hole. "Gotta time this right." she thought._

_She ran right in front of Orochimaru and threw her ninja sword at him. "Showing yourself to the enemy, how stupid." he thought and was ready to attack her. Then Teruko clasped her hands together and long blocks of wood came from the ground and restrained him._

_**! ! **Orochimaru widened his eyes. Teruko heard the her sword hit her target and Orochimaru's head was back. She saw the handle of her sword sticking out of his head._

_She sighed in relief and walked over to him. The wooden restraints went back into the ground and he fell. Teruko grasped the handle of her sword and yanked it out. There was blood on her blade. It dripped, _

_"Teruko! Get away from that!" Kayoko shouted. _

_Then a body burst from the corpse's mouth. Teruko gasped and looked up at Orochimaru as he emerged from the corpse. He was covered in a sticky liquid. Teruko's eyes shrunk and she was in complete shock. "Bakana. . ." she thought. _

_Orochimaru grabbed her with his hand over her eyes. "Ahaah!" Teruko screamed. Orochimaru lifted her by her head. She was groaning and sucking her teeth in painfully._

_"Teme! Yamero!" Kayoko growled._

_"You gave birth to a fine daughter, Kayoko. A kind of uncommon value." Orochimaru said._

_ "Tasukete." Teruko groaned. __Then someone threw shurikens in his arm and she was dropped from his grasp. Another person caught her and jumped away to safety. _

_"Tch!" he said. _

_"Can you stand, Teruko?" her rescuer asked her._

_"Yeah, but Kaa-chan. . ." she replied._

_"Kayoko. . ." he saw her on the ground. _

_"Nojirama, yokatta. . ." Kayoko said. _

_"Tou-chan," Teruko got down from Nojirama's arms. "What do we do?" she asked. "I want to make out of here alive but, I want all of us to escape. . ." she said._

_"She's right, if we run. He might go after other people in the village, if we stay he'll take Teruko." Nojirama thought._

_Orochimaru approached Kayoko, and took out a kunai knife. _

_**! !** Nojirama widened his eyes. Orochimaru licked the knife and held the blade above Kayoko's stomach. She gasped._

_"YOU JERK!" Teruko shouted._

_"If you come closer or use jutsu, then your beloved won't be the only one who'll die." Orochimaru told them. _

_"Kuso!" Kayoko darned. _

_"Teruko. . ." Nojirama said. "Drop your sword." he told her. Teruko's sword fell to her feet._


	32. Atashi no Imouto

Atashi no Imouto

Teruko was sitting on her chair resting her head on her hand. "To save my mother and sister we surrendered. But Orochimaru didn't just take me, he took all of us." she said. "In the Academy my parents were "missing" and I didn't talk to anyone. I was a normal student and that's what made the Sandaime Hokage worry." she said. "But I had one friend, just one friend. . .

_A 6 year old Teruko was walking to the Academy. She was carrying a satchel and was minding her own business when she heard gasps and murmuring behind her. She turned around and Uchiha Itachi was also walking to the Academy. The other students murmured praise. _

_"That's Uchiha Itachi-sama!", "Kakkoii!", "He's a genius.", "Sugoi!"_

_Teruko turned back around and kept walking. In class she accidentally made eye contact with Itachi in her seat and they both looked right back down._

_After school she was walking away when she heard chirping. She walked over to the noise and saw a grey baby bird. It's leg was broken and its wing was bent incorrectly. "That looks like it hurt." she said and sat down on the grass in front of her. She cupped the bird in her hands. "Mystic palm jutsu." she said and her face lit up. _

_A green light came from her hands and healed the bird. Soon it was bouncing on its feet in her hands. "There. It doesn't hurt anymore right?" she asked. Then the bird panicked, "Ite!" Teruko shut her eyes and the bird flew away. _

_She turned around to see Itachi standing there. "Sorry, I scared it away didn't I?" he asked. Teruko looked at her palm, it was scratched and bleeding. She watched it heal on its own in seconds. _

_"Why are you here?" she asked. _

_"Oh," Itachi dug into his bag. "I wanted to return this to you." he said. He held out her family picture. She gasped and took it back._

_"I lost this?" she asked._

_"You all look happy." Itachi said looking at her family._

_"Arigato, for returning this." she thanked. She said and walked away, _

_"Ah, matte!" Itachi asked but she still walked away._

_She walked through the forest and a tree grew behind her. She kept on walking and then rubbed her hands together. "It's cold." she said._

_At Orochimaru's hideout she made a wooden leg for her mom. "Kaa-chan," she said._

_"Hm? What is it, Teruko-chan?" her mom asked._

_"Just a little bit after we were kidnapped the Kyuubi attacked the village." Teruko told her. _

_"Kyuubi?" Kayoko repeated. _

_"Yeah, there were many shinobi deaths including the Yondaime-sama and his spouse." she told her._

_"I see. . . So what happened to the Kyuubi?" Kayoko asked. _

_"We're not allowed to speak of it. But it was sealed away." Teruko said. "Into an orphan. . ." she told her._

_"Did the Sandaime tell you anything?" Kayoko asked her._

_"Not yet. . ." she answered. _

_"Teruko, why don't you see Tou-chan?" Kayoko told her._

_"Ok." Teruko said and stood up. "Get some rest please." she said before leaving. She walked through the darkness, her steps echoed off the walls. "Tou-chan?" she saw her father sitting against the wall._

_"Oh, hey Teruko-chan. How was school?" Nojirama asked. _

_"Not boring." she answered and sat next to him. "What's that?" she asked. Nojirama was holding a small bundle of clean sheets with a baby wrapped in it. _

_"This? Her name's Kenji, your imouto." he answered._

_"Imouto?" she asked. _

_"Here, hold her." Nojirama said and passed the baby to her. Kenji cried in Teruko's arms._

_"I don't think she likes me." Teruko said. _

_"They're tears of joy." Nojirama told her._

"Years passed and I grew up. But so did she." Teruko said.

_"Aneki!" Kenji yelled. Teruko was working on her desk and Kenji started jumping on her bed. "What's it's like? Konoha, the Academy, the outdoors?. . . Stuff like that." Kenji asked while jumping on the bed. _

_"It's much better than in here." Teruko answered. _

_"Ah, I can't wait till I can go outside!" Kenji cheered. "Chotto Aneki! Are you listening!?" she asked._

_"Hai, I'm listening." Teruko sighed. "But the outdoors isn't as great as a you think. All there is a bunch of trees, more trees, water, and the sky." she said._

_"Huh?" Kenji stopped jumping. "What's a sky?" she asked. __Teruko looked at her like she was out of the loop. "I mean, I know you can grow trees and we drink water all the time but you never told me what a sky is." Kenji grinned sheepishly._

_"You really don't know. . ." Teruko said._

_"Hey! You're gone nearly the entire day in Konoha kicking butt as a Shinobi! That's unfair!" Kenji pointed an accusing finger up at her. Teruko furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance. _

_Another day Teruko was working at her desk again and she looked at her bed. "It sure is quiet without her here. It's been a week and I haven't seen her." she thought. "Where in the world did she go?" she asked in her head._

_Later in the middle of the night Teruko was sleeping. Then an obnoxious crying broke out. Teruko squeezed her eyes tight and groaned as she turned to her side. But the crying annoyed her and she growled and sat up in her bed._

_She walked out of her room and through a hallway. She stopped in a dark courtyard where she saw her family. Kenji was sobbing while being comforted by Nojirama, Kayoko was also standing next to them. "Tou-chan, he's so mean!" Kenji whined._

_"Shh, I know I know. You can calm down now." Nojirama said and smoothed her hair._

_"Calm down isn't all, do you know how late it is!?" Teruko asked. "Why are you crying!? You can't have everything your way and that doesn't give you the right to act so annoying!" she scolded._

_"Teruko. . ." Kayoko said._

_"I'm going back now." Teruko said and left._

_The next day when Teruko came back to the hideout she went to her room. It was silent. . . Then she heard the sound of shattering glass. _

_"Kenji!" Kayoko shouted. Kenji was on the floor she was hugging herself around her stomach. She was next to a puddle of water with glass shards in it._

_"What happened?" Teruko asked. Kenji threw up, the vomit was white. Teruko gasped. "What's going on!?" she widened her eyes._

_Kayoko rolled Kenji over to her back and she laid her hand on Kenji's stomach. Her hand lit green and tried healing her. But Kenji still looked like she was in pain._

_"That won't work." Orochimaru said. The family all looked at him. "Her body is poisoned, medical ninjutsu won't remove it." he said. _

_Teruko grabbed his shirt and slammed him against the wall. "You poisoned her!?" she asked._

_"Haven't you noticed that she was gone for a week?" Orochimaru asked. "I wasn't the one who poisoned her. She poisoned herself." he grinned. "She was locked in a room with no food or water. The only other thing there was a venomous snake." he said. "To prolong her life she killed it. She used it's blood for water and ate the rest." he said. __"In the end she would die either way." __he said._

_"You bastard!" Kayoko growled._

_"My imouto's going to die?" Teruko asked in her mind._


	33. Grief

Grief

_"You might as well say what you want to her." Orochimaru said. Nojirama and Kayoko were crying. "By the time you come back she'll be gone forever." he said to Teruko._

_She had her head down and Kenji looked terrible, she looked half dead already. Teruko walked over to her and squat down to her level. "Kenji? Can you see me?" she asked. _

_Kenji looked up, "Yeah." she said. "It makes me sad you know. I never even got to see what it looks like out there, to breath fresh air, to feel the sunlight." she told her. "I wish I could've lived as long as you have." she said._

_"Yeah, I'm sorry this had to happen." Teruko apologized._

_"Aneki, when you come back, can you make a tree for me?" Kenji asked. _

_"Sure. . ." Teruko answered._

_"Doumo, that makes me feel a lot better." Kenji said and smiled._

_In the Academy Teruko wasn't doing her work, she was drawing. When it was her turn she had passed the Graduation exam and got her headband but it didn't cheer her up. By the time school ended she was sitting on the benches near the exits to Konoha. She was looking at her drawing of Kenji with her smile. The wind started blowing and leaves scattered everywhere. _

_Someone else's footsteps started making their way to her. "I never thought you'd be here." an elderly voice said. It was the Third Hokage._

_Teruko crumbled her paper and her breath sucked in. She started crying and she put her forearm over her eyes. The Sandaime sat next to her, "If you want to say anything now's the perfect time." he said. _

_"If you ever got to know someone for a couple years and then they died what would you do?" she asked. _

_"Only for a couple years. . . I would remember them. If there was nothing you could do and their death was unavoidable then the most important thing is to not forget them." he said. "Sadly as shinobi many lives have been lost for countless reasons. . ." he looked at the sky. "After the loss of a comrade comes grief and sadness. You mourn maybe even cry for them but we don't let that block our potential." he said. "All shinobi must have the strength to keep going and not give up even after a tragedy. But it's also important not to forget those tragedies or comrades." he explained _

_"Sore wa. . . Hi no ishi." (That is. . . The will of Fire.) he finished. _

_"Ok." Teruko said. Later she was walking through the same forest she always walks through to get to the hideout. Once again she came to Orochimaru's hidden prison for unwilling victims. _

_"Tou-chan, Kaa-chan. I-" _

_**! ! ! **She was shocked. "Oh Teruko! You got your forehead protector, way to go." Nojirama said. She saw Kenji standing with a cane. Kenji looked up and smiled. _

_Kayoko stood next to Teruko while Nojirama helped Kenji walk with her cane. "While you were gone we convinced Orochimaru to spare her life and her stomach was pumped." Kayoko told her. _

_"Souka." Teruko said. "I can't believe that worked." she said._

_Kayoko's eyes changed, "Yeah. . ." she said. _

_"But I'm happy, now I get to have my kawaii imouto around." Teruko said._

_Later Teruko was holding Kenji's hands. "Aneki, are you officially a ninja?" Kenji asked._

_"That's right." Teruko answered. _

_"Ehh!? Kakoii!" (Cool!) Kenji praised. _

_"Anyway back to business, start walking. You don't have to worry about falling either because you won't." Teruko told her. _

_Kenji's face looked worried and she looked down at her ninja sandals that were worn out and her small feet. "C'mon." Teruko said. _

_"I'm trying!" Kenji yelled._

_"Right, left." Teruko told her. Kenji shakily bent her right knee and moved her foot forward. "Alright now take another step." Teruko said. Kenji bent her left knee and moved her left foot ahead of her right foot. _

_"Yatta!" Kenji cheered and she started walking with Teruko guiding her. Then Teruko let go and walked a few meters away from her. "Eh? Chotto!" she lost her balance and fell down. _

_"Relax! Try to walk to me! I won't go anywhere, so come here!" Teruko encouraged. Kenji stood up on her feet again. Teruko looked so far away that it made her sweat anxiously. _

_"You swear you won't go anywhere?" Kenji asked._

_"Yeah. Come here, I'm not as far as I seem." Teruko said and spread her arms out to he__r._

_Kenji started taking slow steps, then she started walking. . . Then running. She ran to Teruko, "See? It's not so hard." she said. _

_"Un." (Yeah) Kenji nodded._

_Later Kenji was on Teruko's bed again. "Here." Teruko said handing her a teacup. It contained the antidote for the venom._

_"What!? Again?" Kenji asked._

_"Yes! Kaa-chan, said twice a day. Drink it whole," Teruko said and Kenji took it. "And don't try anything sneaky cuz I'm right here!" she said crossing her arms. _

_Kenji plugged her nose and drank her medicine. Then Teruko walked outside her room, when she got out there she clasped her hands together. A tree starting growing in front of her. Kenji ran next to her, "Suge! It's so big!" she looked at the tall tree._

_"Look at this," Teruko said and held her hand out. Flowers grew from her hand. "These are the flowers I can grow." she said. "My favorite flowers are amaryllises. But unfortunately I can't grow them." she said._

_"Amaryllises?" Kenji repeated._

_"Yeah, another type of flowers." Teruko told her. "One day you'll see how beautiful the world is. Kenji, every time you see amaryllises it means that I love you." she said._

_"Every time?" Kenji asked._

_"That's right." Teruko answered. "And it's not just when you see those flowers but always." she said. Kenji smiled genuinely and brightly._

"Of course it annoyed her so much having to take an antidote twice daily and difficultly walking. As for me I began to have challenges as a shinobi." Teruko said. "The Anbu were getting pretty restless so they went to a higher extreme." she said.

_Teruko was walking through the village. She had a dango skewer in her hand and she bit one of the dumplings off. "It sure is quiet." she said as she chewed her dumpling. "Oii~!" she said, the streets looked deserted. "Moshi moshi! Is anyone-" then there was a whoosh sound. She turned her head to see a wind chime ring. "There?" she asked and put the skewer back in her mouth._

_She looked forward again, "There's definitely a presence here. . . But where?!" she thought and swallowed her second dumpling. _

_In the shadows a silhouette of a __shinobi opened his Sharingan eyes. Teruko was walking and she ate her third dumpling. _

_**! ! **Her eyes widened and her muscles tightened. Her skewer fell to the floor and she fell on her knees. "Genjutsu!" her eyebrows were furrowed. Her vision was blurred up and there was a ringing in her ears._

_"This should do it." the attacker stood up. But once was up he noticed that Teruko grabbed her head and fell against a wall. She banged her head on it, "She's resisting the Genjutsu." he said. _

_Teruko grabbed a kunai from her holster, "Ngh!" she stabbed her knife in the area above her right hip. It started bleeding, the blurriness and the ringing went away. "Yoshi!" she grinned and yanked her kunai out. Her wound started healing on it's own. "Now where are you?" she thought started looking around._

_"She broke out?" the shinobi thought. "I was thinking about confining her and then having her discuss with the authorities but now I have to confront her head on." he deduced._

_Teruko jumped up onto one of the rooftops. Shurikens came spinning towards her and she dodged them. Then her attacker appeared right in front of her. She gasped and jumped away. "Did he just teleport!?" she thought and landed on the roof closet to her._

_**! **"Paper bombs!" she thought realizing there were paper bombs at her feet. They blew up and she jumped out from the plume of smoke._

_"From what my superiors told me I thought you'd be older." she heard. She watched the smoke blow away and saw a shinobi standing across from her. There was a large hole in the roof between them._

_"Sharingan. . . He's from the Uchiha clan." she thought. "Are an Anbu? You don't have a mask but you're strange. Also for some reason the village is too calm. . ." she said. __"I don't think the Hokage would go as far as attacking me. . . So there's someone else behind this." Teruko thought._

_"Many Anbus went missing pursing you, but this time it's different." he said. He made the t__iger, ram, monkey, boar, horse, and tiger hand seals. _

_"Tch!" she said and made the dragon, tiger, and hare hand seals. _

_"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!" (Fire style: Fireball jutsu!) _

_"Suiton: Mizurappa!" (Water style: Raging waves!)_

_A bright fireball shot from the Uchiha's mouth while a strong waterfall burst from Teruko's mouth. The fire and water clashed and once again filled the scene with smoke. "How did she do that without any source of water?" he asked._

_Teruko came right out through the smoke and extended her fist in a punch. It was dodged and she swung her leg around. Her kick was was blocked by his arm. "He's quick!" she thought. _

_He tried to kick her back and she bent her head back and dodged it. He unsheathed his tanto and scratched her. She stumbled back and regained her balance. The older shinobi saw the scratch on her face heal. Teruko straightened her arms beside her and each hand had a shuriken in them. They multiplied and she was holding a group of throwing stars in each hand. She threw them and he had a big wave shurikens coming for him._

_He dodged them and used his tanto blade to deflect them. They spun away from him. Then his blade clashed with Teruko's kunai, the sparks were seen coming from the weapons. He glided his foot across and tripped her off her feet. As she fell she forked her knife into the roof and kicked him in the head._

_She got back on her feet and got hook punched. She quickly grabbed his wrist and put her right hand on his elbow joint. She yanked down hard and they both heard some sort of cracking sound. "She dislocated my shoulder!" he thought._

_Teruko released him and he stepped back. The Mangekyo Sharingan started forming in his eyes. "Hold it." Teruko said holding a kunai to his neck. "Disarm your Kekkei Genkai. Now!" she demanded. _

_"How?" he asked and his Sharingan went away. He clearly saw her in front but she was behind her with a knife. _

_"Your Genjutsu's pretty strong, I had to cut myself deep enough to hit my bone." she said. The Teruko in front of him splashed down to water. _

_"Mizu Bunshin." he said. _

_"Demo," Teruko said and stabbed him above his hip. He fell to his knees. "An eye for an eye mister." she said. _

_"How did I lose? You're just a Genin." he asked her. _

_"You're brilliant. But even the strongest jutsus are countered in some sort of way." she said with her hand on her hip. "Ne, what's your name?" she asked._

_"Uchiha Shisui. . ." he answered. _

_"Souka." she said and started walking away. "Oi Shisui!" she said and tossed him something. He caught it and opened up his hand. _

_"A food pill?" he asked._

_"Take that and it'll speed up the healing of your wound. Ja na!" she said and jumped away. _


	34. Kakashi and Itachi vs Teruko

Kakashi and Itachi vs Teruko

_Teruko walked into the forest. "Shisui was the only one who attacked me. . . Why didn't they send more guys?" she thought. "Just to be safe I'll set it up." she thought. She continued to walk. _

_The leaves from the trees started to fall on the ground slowly. Someone in the trees formed the tiger, ram, monkey, boar, horse, and tiger hand seals. "Katon: Goukakyu no jutsu!" (Fire style: Fireball jutsu!) _

_Teruko stopped in her steps and saw a stream of fire blow toward her. It hit the ground right in front of her. She watched a huge fire flicker and burn in front of her. Two shinobi appeared behind her. One of them was on his knee and he stood up. "Omae. . .!" the taller one said with a hint of anger. _

_"What do you guys want?" Teruko turned around and faced them. "You Anbu never learn do you? Get lost!" she told them. _

_The black ops' put their hands on their swords. "Many other black ops have disappeared while trying to observe you." the smaller ANBU said and they both wielded their swords. "We can only assume the worst. We were ordered to bring you to the council, by force!" he said._

_"I've met that guy before. But I can't remember when or where. . ." Teruko thought. "How 'bout a negotiation?" she said. She pointed to the taller Anbu, "You," then she pointed to the shorter one. "make out with him and I'll come with you guys without a fight." she grinned. _

_They just gripped their swords tighter. Teruko kept her grin, a leaf fell from a tree and in between the two black ops. "Boom." an explosion blew right in between the two of them._

_**! !** "What the!?" the older Anbu exclaimed. The other Anbu looked closely at the falling leaves. _

_"Papers bombs!" he said and another one exploded near him. He shielded his face and jumped away. "She knew we were coming beforehand!" he thought. _

_"You're wide open!" Teruko said and appeared in front of him. A large sound rang through the air and pieces of his mask were falling apart near Teruko's fist. _

_**! **She gasped and__ instantly made the tiger, hare, boar, and dog seals. "Doton: Doryuuheki!" (Earth style: Mud wall). "That was close, I almost looked into his eyes." she thought. _

_Itachi's mask was broken and his Sharingan eyes glowed their red color. _

_Teruko flinched as an accumulation of lighting burst through her wall right in front of her. "Raikiri!" the other ANBU burst right through her wall and came for her with his jutsu. _

_He sliced his arm across and Teruko scowled as she dodged it. Then he brought his arm back and pushed his straightened lightning infused hand to her. He sliced into her arm and blood gushed from it. _

_**!** She grunted and placed her foot behind his. She pulled his front foot forward making him lose his balance and she kicked her other foot into his chest. He smashed right into her rock wall that already had a hole in it. After the impact his Raikiri sparked out._

_Her wound started to heal and Itachi came running with his sword. Teruko grabbed a kunai and blocked his sword. Their blades scratched making a sharp sound. Itachi flipped her kunai away and it spun away landing into the trunk of a tree._

_"Tch!" Teruko said and ducked from his sword. He brought his sword up and then brought it down only to stab the ground. Teruko jumped up and landed on the tip of the handle and roundhouse kicked him in the head. He started to fall. "Now!" he called. _

_A blade cut right through Teruko's abdominal area. She widened her eyes and lurched forward. She spit out blood. Kakashi stabbed her from behind with a sword, he yanked it out. She stumbled forward before regaining her balance. _

_"Wari, but we have the upper hand." the older Anbu told her. T__eruko took out a smoke bomb and threw it to the ground. "A smoke screen?" he said. _

_Itachi stood up, "Iku zo." he said and they ran deeper into the trees. They came to a clearing and stood back to back. "Be careful she's here somewhere." Itachi said._

_Teruko made the tiger, ox, dragon, hare, dog, bird, rat, clone seal, dragon, and ram hand seals. "Suiton!" she started. _

_"Suikodan no jutsu!" _

_**!** Teruko's powerful water jutsu was countered by itself. "He copied my jutsu!?" she exclaimed. "Now I get it, they really know how to pick their guys." she said. _

_She appeared in front of them. "They sent two Sharingan wielders, three if you count Shisui." she said. "First there's Itachi the one and only genius and Hatake Kakashi-san of the Sharingan." she said. _

_"She beat Shisui?" Itachi asked._

_"Kinda, my head hurts like crazy thanks to that guy. But the Sharingan can't copy everything and as long as I don't make eye contact with either of you I've got this in the bag." she said. _

_"She's being cocky now." Kakashi grumbled._

_"Hey~! I'll give you one free hit if you take that back!" she said. _

_Kakashi scowled and gathered lighting chakra to his hand. He ran towards her and used his Lighting blade to stab her through the chest. But it was just a wooden substitution. _

_Wooden roots came through the ground and tied around Itachi. "What kind of jutsu is this?" he asked aloud and he struggled to break out. Kakashi used his Raikiri to sever the wood. _

_"Thanks." Itachi told him. _

_"This is the Mokuton. But how is she using it!?" he asked. "Don't tell me she also has that DNA implanted in her!?" Kakashi said_

_"Chigau yo!" Teruko called. She was standing on higher ground, Kakashi and Itachi looked up at her. "Itachi and I only went to school together for a year so he probably doesn't know, but no one told you my name before they sent you did they?" she asked him. _

_"She's right we were just told to go after her." Itachi thought._

_"My given name is Teruko, but my family name. . Is Senju." she told them._

_**!** Kakashi flinched in surprise and used a smoke bomb to get away. They ran through the forest. "We need to retreat for now." he said. _

_"Nande?" Itachi asked. _

_"My Sharingan can't copy her Mokuton jutsus and she knows how to fight us without looking into our eyes." Kakashi answered. "Also against your fire jutsus are useless against her water techniques." he added. __"Kuso! She was actually born with that Kekkei Genkai!" Kakashi thought._

_Later they were catching their breath. Itachi looked around, "This looks exactly the same as before. Don't tell me we went in a circle!" he thought. _

_"There's no doubt something's definitely wrong!" Kakashi thought. "We've seen the same trees over and over again!" he noticed. _

_Itachi wondered around nearby and looked past a bush. He was shocked to see numerous black ops unconscious. "These are. . . All the Anbu that went missing. . ." he thought._

_"Have you noticed?" Teruko asked and Itachi immediately threw shurikens at her. A tree grew right in front of her and sheided her. She stepped on the trunk and walked on it perpendicularly. "Ever since those boneheads started to try to stalk me I led them into this forest and trapped them in my own little world." she said as she walked. "You guys were trapped from the beginning." she kept walking. "Right when I suspected that you were coming for me. I set this Genjutsu and trapped the both of you without you noticing." she stood on one of the branches._

_**! ! **"This is Genjutsu!?" Kakashi yelled in his mind. _

_"So that's why all those Anbu went missing!" Itachi deduced._

_"I would never kill a nakama from the Leaf!" Teruko announced. _

_"But you still let us down when we needed you! You abandoned us and because of you many comrades from the Leaf have perished. It's the same as killing!" Kakashi accused her. She gritted her teeth in anger._

_ Outside of her Genjutsu Teruko stood looking down at Kakashi and Itachi who were knocked out. Teruko took out Kakashi's sword and flipped it blade down._

_**! ! !** Kakashi stiffened in pain and fell on his hands and knees. Itachi watched as blood dripped to the ground. "The only way to break out of this Genjutsu is to defeat her. . ." Itachi thought. _

_"Hm." Teruko noticed that Itachi closed his Sharingan. _

_"Getting her to look into my eyes is a waste of chakra. Genjutsu isn't my best strategy right now." he thought._

_Teruko made the snake hand seal and clones started growing from her tree. "Mokuton Bunshin." Itachi thought. _

_"While he isn't using the Sharingan I'll crush him with numbers!" Teruko thought and she and her clones jumped down from the tree. They started walking toward him and he pulled out a shuriken. _

_He had one in his hand and he threw it. It spun rapidly through the air and one of its points landed in the neck of a clone. It fell down and others ran to him with their arms behind them. "Katon: Hosenka no jutsu!" he blew a bunch of random fireballs that set many of her clones on fire, there were only a few left. _

_One of them came and kneed him in the stomach he coughed out blood and was sent back a little before being caught. Two clones held an arm, Teruko was in front of him while her clones immobilized him. Itachi swung his leg back to gain momentum and rose it high. He kicked her hard in her chin, _

_**! **He gasped and woke up. "I broke out of the Genjutsu!" he thought. In front of him he saw Teruko groaning through her teeth and rubbing her bruised chin. All the Black ops started to wake up. _

_"Shimatta!" Teruko thought and jumped from tree to tree to escape. _

_"Matte!" Itachi called out to her. One of the Anbus that had just woke up pointed at her, _

_"It's that Mokuton girl get her!" he yelled._

_Teruko was running like her life depended on it. An army of highly skilled black ops chased after her. Most of them were adults so they weren't far from the 10 year old ninja. "Get back here you red eyed brat!" one of the black ops shouted. _

_"Teruko! Please wait!" Itachi said sounding much more polite. _

_"Dame! Just leave me alone!" she shouted back. Tall trees started growing one after the other behind her but that barely slowed them down. "Kuso!" she said. "I've got no choice!" she thought and started making hand seals starting with the tiger seal. She turned and jumped facing them. "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" (Water style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!) _

_Itachi gasped and an enormous vortex of water formed. "She can do a jutsu like that without a water source!?" he thought. The entire Anbu team pursing her were washed away. The water splashed through the trees and even knocked some down. _

_Teruko ran away from the gigantic wave she had made and escaped. _

"That was one of my battles as a Shinobi. It tested everything I had learned to become a Genin. But when I got back the worst thing in my life happened." she said.


	35. Those words we regret

Those words we regret

_Teruko walked into the hideout, "Tadaima~" she said. She found blood splattered all over the floor, "That's disgusting." she said and walked by it. "Kaa-chan, today-" she opened the door to an empty bedroom. "I was sure she'd be here. . ." she said. _

_"They're not here anymore." Orochimaru said and Teruko turned around and looked up at him. "You should've seen what happened today." he said with a twisted grin. _

_"You didn't. . . Where's Kenji!?" she demanded. _

_"She was waiting for you all day." he answered. "She should be in your room." he said. _

_Teruko took off and ran to her room, "Please don't be a dead body!" she pleaded consciously. She slammed her door open, Kenji was sitting on her bed. "Suman! I got into a fight and-!" she said and walked further into the room._

_**! ! !** She gasped, Kenji was sitting hugging her knees. Her right arm was covered in these marks that looked like black flames and her face was covered in dried tears. But the worst feature of all made Teruko fall on the floor, her palms lay limb on the cold stones of the floor. Her eyes had fear and her irises compressed._

_Kenji's eyes didn't have sclera anymore and her eyeballs were purple with rings around her pupils. "Ba. . ." Teruko gasped. "Bakemono!" she said terrified. She got on her feet and ran away._

_She stopped in the hall with her hands on her knees and she was panting. Sweat dropped to the floor. "What the heck happened when I was gone?" she asked._

_"I assumed you would know." Orochimaru said. "I was planning on giving Kenji the Rinnegan for a while, when you were gone I cut open her arm and implanted DNA from another clan in her wound." he told her. "It was stitched up and while she was watching I killed Nojirama and Kayoko. After that the Rinnegan was awakened." he said. _

_There were numerous "shing" sounds. Orochimaru fell down on the floor with kunai knives and shurikens impaled into his torso. "Kono!" he tried getting up but Teruko stamped her foot on his chest and he fell back on the floor. "Kaa-chan was right! You're a bastard!" she growled._

_"Don't blame me, they agreed to do it. In exchange I saved Kenji's life before she died of poisoning." he said. _

_"So that's how." she thought. "What's this 'Rinnegan'!?" she demanded._

_"It's a Kekkei Genkai that's supposed to be the most powerful, but I'm not sure what it does. As she grows her eyes will manifest and as long as she's here she's at my disposal." he said with a grin. "Just like you." he added. __That one struck a nerve and made Teruko's eyes widen. _

_She sat on a tree branch with her head down. The birds flapped their wings and chirped throughout the forest. "That day. . ." she began to remember Orochimaru's ambush like his face at the door, "How did he find out?" Him cutting Kayoko's leg off, "How did he know where to find us?" and she remembered when he grabbed her by her face. "Who told him?" she asked herself._

_She jumped down from the tree and walked back to the hideout. She opened the door to her parents' bedroom. She rested her palm on the bed,_

"I made a huge mistake. While I was greiving my parents I forgot about my sister, the consequence horrible."

_"Suicide?" _

_"Yeah, I guess she couldn't handle the power of the Rinnegan." Orochimaru told her. "Mattaku, I can't stand it when my subjects take their own lives. It ruins my work." he said._

_Teruko gritted her teeth. _

_Later she was pushing a large box on the ground. The box was covered in exploding tags and she stopped at the end of a cliff. "I'm not gonna let him have them especially after their deaths." she thought. She put her hand on the coffin, "I could find all but one body." she said. _

_"Sayonara Tou-chan, Kaa-chan. . ." tears dripped from her chin and she pushed the coffin off the cliff. She put her hands together and an explosion sounded. Its noise bounced off the sides of the cliffs._

_Then she remembered the last thing she said to Kenji and before leaving the cliff she said "Gomene."_

Teruko sat in her chair and rubbed her eyes. "I was convinced that she passed away, I wasted a day or two beating myself up about it. Then I learned that whining in self pity won't bring the dead back." she said looking at the ceilings. "But during the preliminaries when I saw her alive and strong. . . I almost didn't recognize her until I saw her eyes, those eyes. It breaks my heart every time I look at them."

"Teruko-san, Kenji is afraid of you. . ." Naruto told her.

"Afraid of me?" she looked at the floor. "When I saw her I didn't know what to feel. Relieved, happy, betrayed, angry? I just came off as creepy." she admitted. "The last time I saw her I called her a monster, I wished that I could take it back so much. And I still do." she stood up. "I should've apologized to her and not vice versa." she suddenly turned to Naruto and broke the depressing atmosphere.

"Well good luck with the exams, Naruto. And also, that. . ." she pointed her finger at his stomach. "I'll help you too," she appeared inside the seal for a split second.

"Kyuubi." Teruko left the room.

**? **Naruto put his hand on his stomach. "Hurry up and get well soon." Naruto hoped and also left the room.

At night the moonlight shined over Kenji's eyelids. She opened them and rolled her eyes to the window. She sat up and she saw the moon ripple into a red color with tomoe. She blinked and it returned to normal. She put her bare feet on the floor and walked to the closet.

**! **"Gone!" she started shuffling through the closet. "My headband is gone!" she said shocked.


	36. Ninja chase

Ninja chase

"Hey Naruto can I stay here for a while?" Kenji asked at Naruto's door. She was holding a messenger field bag at her side.

"Eh? Why?" he asked.

"Plumbing issues." she answered.

5 minutes earlier. . .

_Kenji was walking to her room, "Man, my key was gone too and the stupid building manager wouldn't give me another one!" she grumbled. She approached her door and it opened when she was one foot from it._

_"What?" she stepped inside her room._

_**! **There were trees growing all over her room. They had flowers that released pollen into the air. "What's with these plants!? They all have chakra flowing through them!" she thought seeing chakra running through the roots and in the pollen. _

_Then her mind starting drifting. She turned around and set her feet outside the door before slamming it shut. She fell down panting, "Chikusho!" she cursed. _

"Plumbing issues, huh? Sure you can stay here." Naruto told her. _  
_

"Thanks," she said and put her bag in a corner. "I still can't believe it!" she exclaimed. "I lost a fight to _that_ guy!" she growled.

"You really hate losing." Naruto said.

"He pisses me off! I wanna knock that rich boy's teeth out!" she thought.

Naruto remembered the her fight. "Hey, this might be a bad time to ask but what does your Rinnegan actually do?" he asked.

Kenji stopped for a minute, "It gives me powers that no one else has." she said. She faced him, "Like that." she pointed at Naruto's stomach. "But I can never let anyone else have them, they're too dangerous." she said. "I'm sure you can relate,"

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

"You can't just give your little spirit animal to anyone right? That's why it stays in your body, my eyes are just like that." she compared.

"Oh. Then are you going to do? You can't become a Chunin and to me it looks like a bunch of people have got some beef with you." Naruto said.

"You're right," she agreed. "I'm gonna go talk with the old geezer to try to tell him about Orochimaru. And then I'll start training again." she answered.

"I haven't given it much thought until now but I was wondering why you're on this squad. I mean we have 4 people and another has 2 so it's kind of odd. . ." he drifted off realizing that his statement could be connoted to saying he didn't like her on the squad.

But Kenji didn't look offended at all, "Well, he was bound to ask me this at some point." she thought. "Ok, don't tell Sasuke but Kurenai Sensei took this to the higher ups and removed me from her squad." she confessed. "She's one of those people that thinks I'm a threat to Konoha." she told him.

"A threat. . . Then why're you so persistent on being a ninja? Won't that just make things worse for you?"

"In a way, yeah. Maybe I'm just an idiot but, that won't stop me from being a ninja. Cause that's my dream, I don't want to be helpless ever again." she said.

"Mmm, I don't get it at all!" Naruto exclaimed and crossed his arms.

"Yeah, it's a total laugh isn't it?" she smiled.

In the Hokage's office, the 3rd set his hat down on his desk and clasped his hands. "I'm guessing that you're not here to talk about the Chunin exams." he said.

"Sandaime, the truth is I was manipulated by Orochimaru." she admitted to him.

"Orochimaru, huh. . ." he walked to his window with his pipe in hand. Teruko's brows furrowed.

"You're not very surprised are you?" she asked.

"It would've been a surprise if Anko hadn't reported him in the village already." he said.

"Then you already know the Leaf village is danger!" she raised her voice. "Maa ii, if you already know about that." she looked out the window. "Jiji, have you ever heard of the Akatsuki?" she asked him.

Then they heard the door opening, Teruko turned her head.

**! **The council members Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were at the door. Teruko gritted her teeth, "It's them." she thought getting bad vibes.

"Congratulations on passing the Preliminaries in the Chunin exams." Homura said and the two stepped in the room.

"I came here to have a private conversation." Teruko said.

"About your betrayal?" Koharu asked her. "It's strange, you were relocated to be safe and your family happens to disappear on the very day we needed you. And now you tell us Orochimaru was manipulating you."

"For that you've been appropriately vilified. But there is a way you can clear your reputation." Homura said.

"Of course they blame me for the Nine Tails attack. Albeit if we hadn't been kidnapped the attack could've been prevented." Teruko thought.

"There is a girl, no. A monster."

"Koharu!" the 3rd Hokage caught what was going on.

"She just appeared in the village and she's a threat. For some reason she has something called the Rinnegan, with it she can destroy all of Konoha." Koharu explained. "To make things worse she's a Genin level shinobi, luckily we have time."

"If you kill her before she can bring destruction like that, you'll save the village." Homura said.

"Hai." Teruko responded.

Kenji freaked out, she was listening to them from outside the window. She jumped away and ran on the roof. "Chikusho!" she thought.

Later she was in the training grounds. She pulled out small black rods and held them in between her fingers. She swung her arm and opened her fingers letting the mini rods land in the trunk of a tree.

"Both Naruto and Sasuke made it to the third stage, even Aneki." she thought. "That only means I've got to hurry up and get stronger." she made the tiger, ram, monkey, boar, horse, tiger hand seals. A stream of fire blew from her mouth and there was an ashy crater in the ground.

"For now all I can do is hone my skills." she thought. "It would be nice if I could get some sort of teaching right now but Kakashi Sensei's too busy."

"Oi!" voice called and Kenji turned her head.

**!** Teruko was standing there. "Look, I didn't mean to do that at the Preliminaries." she said. "But now-"

All of the sudden Kenji threw three kunai knives in her direction. They had paper bombs attatched to them. Teruko's eyes widened and she took out three shurikens. She aimed them and threw off the trajectory of the knives.

They landed in the ground and the bombs exploded. "Tch!" Teruko said through her teeth. "She got away!"

Kenji was running away and she stopped panting with her hands on her knees. "I made it!" she breathed. "She'll surely kill me if she gets the chance. As much as I hate wimping out I have to keep avoiding her." she thought.

"She's gonna run from me from now on isn't she?" Teruko asked herself. "Man, she used to hurry to me all the time." she said. "I'll just have to chase her."


	37. Ninja chase part 2

Ninja chase part 2

Sasuke was in the middle of gathering lightning chakra for his Chidori. "He's completely focused. But for someone his level to get this far, that's genius for you." Kakashi thought.

"BOO!" Kenji shoved him from behind.

"Aah!" Sasuke accidentally shocked himself with all the lightning chakra he accumulated. Kenji just laughed at him.

"Ok since Kenji just wasted your second Chidori we can either move to something else or call it day." Kakashi said keeping his lazy tone.

"She did what?!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"You heard me, she wasted your second Chidori you can't use it again until tomorrow." Kakashi told him.

The corner of Sasuke's mouth twitched and a big red vein appeared on his head. "Wari, Sasuke. If you want I'll make it up to you." Kenji told him.

"Make it up to me?" he repeated and his aura turned fiery.

"Yeah," she said and Sasuke grabbed her jacket in his fist. "Eh?"

"Go away you miserable tomboy." he growled.

"Aright just get out of my face, your breath stinks." she said making Sasuke let go of her jacket.

She sat next to Kakashi and they watched Sasuke train some more. "So why're you here? Since you spend a lot of your time climbing trees I doubt you just got bored and wondered here." Kakashi asked her.

"When I heard you were training Sasuke. I just came here to see how much I can irritate the teachers pet here." she answered him.

"Oh why's Teruko coming too then?" he asked.

"Where!?" she got behind him. "Ah! Kakashi, teme!" she said realizing he faked that one. She sat back down next to him,

"I knew it, you're trying to get away from Teruko." he figured her out.

"Yeah." Kenji put her right knee up and leaned on it.

"Why? I thought you two were siblings."

"Well our relationship isn't all that smooth ok?" she raised her voice a little.

"Look I'll admit that when we met I didn't like her much. But I realized she's also a nakama from the Leaf." he told her.

"To be honest she wants to kill me." she said.

"Don't be so dramatic." Kakashi told her.

"I'm serious! And I can see why, if she does she'll get a good reputation and revenge."

"Then you're on your own, and by the way she's coming here, fast!" Kakashi warned.

"Ha!" Kenji stood up. "You got me the first time but even you should know not to use the same trick twice." she smirked, but it didn't last long. She was scratched in the face by shuriken.

She looked up, "Shoot!" she reached for her kunai holster and then the ground rumbled. Kenji was upper cut punched in the chin off her feet. "A clone!?" she thought.

Sasuke seemed to forget about his training and saw Kenji slide on the ground from the punch. "Hopefully I smacked some sense into you." Teruko said.

"Kuh!" Kenji stood up and put her forearm under her chin.

"I don't want to have do this violently if it's you. Or hunt you down." she said. "Just come without a fight." she demanded.

"Heck no!" Kenji shouted at her. "I can kind of understand why you're like this but I'm not surrendering to you. When I saw you I thought, "Maybe if I apologize, Aneki will at least not hate me." But you don't give a damn do you?!" she yelled pointing her finger.

"You're wrong!" Teruko denied.

"No, I remember clearly. When you came back that day after whatever kind of screw up you made. . .!" she started. "You ran."

". . .Urusai!" Teruko yelled at her. "You're blaming me for running!? You went ahead and dragged yourself all the way to Konoha! And what exactly are you doing right now?!"

"I left because I didn't belong there. Do you have any idea how much I hated that place? It was hell!"

Teruko couldn't combat that, she didn't know how to react to words she'd never heard. Kenji took the chance and took out a handful of blades in both hands. She threw them and they went flying straight at Teruko. They impaled her and she fell back.

Kenji turned around and ran away. Later she sat on a bench where Konoha's exit was, she sighed. "Naruto's probably training right now, I wish I could do the same. But now that I'm in this mess, every minute's like a test. Sucks that I won't be a chunin if I pass it though." she said.

"Ite!"

"It's your own fault." Kakashi said walking beside Teruko. "You're the one who sent the wrong message.

"Tch! She just caught me off guard." Teruko growled.

"That's what ninjas do." A big and red vein popped up on Teruko's head.

"She's really ticks me off!" she lost her cool. "Next time I might bring a big hammer! We'll see how she likes getting knocked around with that!"

"I guess anyone would be that mad if someone impaled them with a bunch of lethal blades." Kakashi thought.

Kenji looked around the corner, "Doesn't look like Aneki's near here." she thought and came out. She walked through the normal villagers. "Just stay calm, cool, and-

"Yo Kenji!"

"Gah!" she flinched and Akamaru barked. "Oh, it's just those guys." she thought seeing Shino and Kiba. "Anno, Kurenai Sensei isn't here is she?" she asked them nervously.

"Currently not." Shino answered.

"I heard from her that that Neji guy beat you bloody." Kiba grinned.

"D'oh!" Kenji felt humiliated. "T-that was. . ." she stuttered. "Iya, towards the end of that match has got to be the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me!" she thought.

Shino noticed her cloud of depression, "So that tall woman from the 3rd Preliminary match, Teruko." he started.

**! **"Shh! Can we please not mention the T word!" Kenji whispered.

"What you know her?" Kiba asked.

"Can we keep our voices down?" Kenji whispered again. "Let's just say we've got some beef. . . And just a couple minutes ago I may have injured her. . ." she said.

"Oi, you guys." they heard Kurenai's voice.

"Well, I'm outta here before you guys get in trouble. Ja!" Kenji said. She turned and ran face first into a tree. The timing was just right that Kurenai saw her face-plant and saw her fall on the ground.

She sat up angered, "Who the heck put that tree there!?" she exclaimed.

"Trees don't grow at random like that." Shino told her.

"I put it here." Teruko stood on a high branch. "We need to talk. But before that. . ." She cracked her knuckles, "I'm gonna beat the living daylight out of you!" her red eyes glowed like the Devil's.

Kenji broke a few sweats. She took off again leaving behind a dust cloud. "How does she keep finding me!?" Kenji asked flustered.

Then she heard another pair of running steps behind her. "AAH!" her eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw Teruko running behind her. "The heck are you doing!? Go fly a kite!"

"Like hell! After what you did I'll throw you into a waterfall head first!" Teruko talked back. Kenji skidded a corner and Teruko followed.

Only thing is she passed her. Kenji dropped her fake wall disguise and sighed. "I saw that." Teruko said to her.

They kept on running and soon Kenji skidded on her feet when she came to the trap field. She backed up from the fence a little. Teruko caught up to her panting. "She's cornered." she thought.

Kenji eyed the fence and Teruko seemed to read her thoughts. "Don't be stupid, you'll get your head blown off." she said. Kenji jumped on the top of the fence. "Hey!" Teruko shouted.

Kenji crossed her arms over her chest and started to fall back. Then she gathered chakra to the soles of her feet and ran sideways on the fence.

**!** "What the!?" Teruko said reacting to Kenji's trick. She ended up getting away again.


	38. Ninja chase part 3

Ninja chase part 3

Kenji collapsed on her knees. "Argh! I don't get it, every time I get away from her she ends up finding me again in minutes." she exclaimed and stood back up. "I can't go home either and if I'm caught in Jiji's office the council will no doubt be offended."

"Argh!" Teruko stamped her foot into the fence. "I don't get it! Every time I catch up to her she worms her way out." she yelled. She put her foot down and kicked the dirt. "Chikusho!" she cursed. "I wonder what happened during the past few years? I give her credit for being a good ninja but you can't run on your own from me." she thought.

Kenji was hiding in foliage, she used her Rinnegan to look through the forest. "It doesn't look like she's coming." she thought. Then she looked at the river nearby, "Naruto-kun? I thought I didn't see him in the training grounds, looks like he's working hard." she thought and jumped out of bush holding a kunai knife.

When she was sure the coast was clear, she straightened her knees and put her knife away. She took two steps and a tree grew out of the ground. It grew quickly to the point where Kenji's feet were stuck in the roots and her body was caged in the trunk. "Uh oh. . . HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!" she yelled.

"Eh nani?" a man came out through the trees. He kneeled down next to Kenji.

"Who's this guy?" Kenji thought, she looked him up and down. "I've never seen anyone like him in the village."

He had a lot of spiky, white hair and his clothing didn't look local or modern. "Don't tell me you're stuck in a tree." he laughed.

"Gotcha!" Teruko said. She started running toward the location. "The Rinnegan has a certain range of vision. But I put clones all over to be my eyes and ears and pass information." she thougt ht. "She walked into my best trap. Once I enter her range she'll notice me but there's no way she can escape my trap!"

**! ! ! **Kenji gasped. "She's coming! Kuso, I've been had." she started struggling and twisting to get out.

"There's no more running!" Teruko said and continued to head to the location.

The man knocked on the tree trunk. "This tree is flowing with chakra. Which means this isn't a normal tree, it's a jutsu!" he thought.

Kenji was still struggling, "Is this it? Ever since I started my ninja training, all I wanted to do was be strong. But I had nothing, when I became a Genin I made comrades, friends. I had the chance to protect something precious again." she thought. She started remembering Squad 7. "And I did protect them," she remembered the fight on the bridge and in the Forest of Death.

"But then they surpassed me. Those two, they went and marched ahead in victory." she pictured Naruto and Sasuke's faces. "But I failed, and was left in the dust humiliated. They had so much more potential than me."

She clenched her fists, "But I can't die! I have to catch up to them, to face them!" She continued to try and move her limbs in the wood. "I want to stay beside them forever!"

Then a part of the tree was pulled off. Kenji saw the guy's hair look more wild and dangerous. Then it went back to normal.

Teruko stopped, "What!?"

Now that there was a big gap in the tree Kenji was able to get out with only a little trouble with her head. She stepped out of the roots. "Arigato, ossan." she said and stretched her arms.

"You're a shinobi aren't you?" the old man said. "You're not wearing a headband but you do look the part. Also," he said spotting another detail. "That's the crest of the Senju clan. . ." he thought looking at her collar.

"Your body looks tough enough to fight an army. The youths of Konoha know how to train themselves." he said.

"He's just like someone else I know. . ." Kenji thought. A bunch of names spun around in her head and stopped on Might Guy. "There's no mistake he's just like Guy-sensei." she thought. "Omae wa dare?" (Who are you?) she asked him.

"I'm glad you asked." he said and stood in a kabuki pose. "I am a great sage who defeats all, the one women swoon for! I am Jiraiya-sama!" he introduced dramatically.

"Jiraiya? Jirai. . . ya?" Kenji said.

"Oh, even the young people know my name." Jiraiya thought.

"Aaaaaahhh!" Kenji pointed her finger at him. She took off.

**?** Jiraiya was confused.

Teruko slammed her fist on a tree. "Kuso!" she cursed. "Why is it so hard?" she thought. Kenji was walking through the village her feet were covered in dust and dirt. It was dusk and she was exhausted.

"So~ how's it going?" Kakashi asked her.

"Leave me alone." she groaned.

"Teruko was mad about what you did to her." he told.

"Yeah? She chased me all the way to the trap field." she said.

"You should go home, your chakra is chipping away by the minute."

"I would if she hadn't grown a tainted vine house through my bedroom." Kenji told him.

"I also came to talk to you about Neji." he said and Kenji stopped in her steps.

"You owe him an apology." Kakashi said.

"Heck to the no! That fruitcake got what was comin'!" she yelled in anger.

"Kenji, you almost cut the guy's hands off. You were being cruel." Kakashi scolded her. "Not to mention you crushed his headband."

"Did you not know he was slandering me?" she asked.

"Yes, but he never tried to cut off your body parts did he?" he asked and Kenji gritted her teeth. "Since you've already got some personal problems to deal with, you don't have to apologize now. I'll let you settle things with Teruko first." he said and vanished.

"Settle things? How am I gonna do that?" Kenji thought. "After all I'm at the top of her hit list." Later she was walking up a tree and she sat down on a high branch. She got a perfect view of the moon.

In the morning, Kenji was still on the tree branch. "Ugh, I was so paranoid that I ended up not getting any sleep." she said. She jumped down from branch to branch to the ground. "At any rate I just have to keep moving." she thought and walked on.

Kurenai and Asuma were talking with each other in a dumpling house. "So, how's that Neji kid?" Asuma asked.

"He hasn't fully recovered from his broken bones but otherwise he's fine." Kurenai answered. "Asuma, have you seen Senju Teruko?" she asked him.

"That girl who beat the Suna ninja puppeteer? Yeah," Asuma smoked his cigar. "I think she'll become a chunin." he said.

"She's was asked by the Council to assassinate Kenji." Kurenai said.

"Huh, last time I checked she was still alive."

"I know. Kenji's been running from her, I saw her being chased earlier. But eventually her chakra will run out and it'll be the end for her." Kurenai told him.

"Not really."

Kurenai and Asuma looked outside the shop. "Kakashi!"

"Yo!" he waved. "It's true at some point Kenji will be caught but I don't think she'll die." he said.

"What do you mean?" Asuma asked.

"Teruko wouldn't kill her." he said. He shocked Kurenai and Asuma. "It's totally optional, she doesn't have to kill Kenji if she doesn't want to."

"Why wouldn't she kill her?" Asuma asked.

"Well, it's hard to tell but. . . Those two are very close." he said.

"Achoo!" Teruko and Kenji both sneezed. "Man, I thought I'd be able to find her in her home by the end of the night." Teruko complained.

"Because of her I stayed up with paranoia. Heck I literally got stuck in a tree!" Kenji said.

"She's just too much of a hassle!" they said in unison.

**! !** They noticed each other. Kenji threw a shuriken at her. Teruko ducked from it and growled. Kenji made a run for it again. "Oh no you don't!" Teruko said and chased her again. "You got lucky the first couple times! But there's no way you're getting away his time!" she said.

Kenji was panting, she turned around and faced her. She brought her hand back. "Tensei!" she extended her palm towards her. A repulsive force came speeding from her hand.

**?** Teruko saw the shops and people reacting to some sort of quick, wind like thing. "What was that?" she thought. She stopped and the Shinra Tensei was coming right towards her. She turned herself 90 degrees and the Shinra Tensei flew right past her. The attack blew her hair and she saw a building get smashed. Some of its parts fell to the ground. "Oi! What happened here!"

"So it was an attack that you can't see but if I got hit I'd probably be roadkill." Teruko thought.

Kenji turned her head forward and kept running. Then a tree root grew in front of her feet. She tripped on it and had a rough fall on her stomach. She put her hands on the ground and pushed herself up.

**!** She gasped. She saw Teruko's silhouette and her burning red eyes looking into her soul.

She could hear her own heartbeat and she started sweating. Teruko kneeled down and reached her hand out. She put her hand on Kenji's head.

"Huh?" she thought. "Ngh!" Teruko ruffled her hair.

"You gave me a hard time y'know." Teruko said to her.


	39. Turmoil at its worst

Turmoil at its worst

"Waah!" Kenji went head first into a waterfall. She gasped for air and stood on the lake. "Was that really necessary?" she asked.

"It sure was you stabbed me!" Teruko scolded.

"Touché." Kenji admitted.

Teruko laughed and smiled. "Maybe she hasn't changed that much after all. She's just grown a little." she thought. Kurenai was watching and she made a bunch of hand seals. Teruko's eyes turned dull and her expression turned blank.

"Genjutsu won't change her thoughts but it will make her do what she isn't capable of. This way the village doesn't have to live in constant danger and fear." Kurenai thought.

"Oi?" Kenji called. Teruko didn't move at all. "Is something wrong?" she asked. She started to take a step toward her.

Then in a second Teruko was close her and she took a kunai knife. With a dull face she took the kunai and plunged it into the spot where Kenji's heart was. Kenji stepped back.

Teruko's eyes blinked and she shook her head. She gasped and saw Kenji's jacket get stained with blood around where she was stabbed. "Ane. . ." she coughed.

Blood dropped into the water. Teruko ran to her and caught her before she fell. "What just happened?" she thought. Kenji's body turned into lightning.

**!** Teruko was startled. "Raiton Bunshin!?" Kurenai thought.

"I knew it." Kenji said. Teruko turned around, she was there with her eyes covered by her bangs.

"Kenji. . . You anticipated this?"

"Yeah, but I didn't want to be right. I guess deep down, I wish you'd go back to being my sister instead of my killer." she wiped her forearm over her eyes. "I wish you'd choose me over your pride. Kuh!" she gritted her teeth.

"That's not true!"

"Uruse!" she roared. "You just tried to murder me with your own hands and you think you can talk your way out!"

"Please listen to me! I didn't mean it! I don't know what just happened!" Teruko tried convincing her.

"I do." Kenji told her. "I wanted to believe you could my nakama. But you're just like Asuma! You're just like Kurenai!"

Kurenai took offense to that. "Just hear me out." Teruko said. "I really didn't mean it. I'd take it back if I could. It was never my intention to kill you, when the Council told me to do it I immediately refused." she explained.

"Aneki. . . You just tried to stab me. Either you possibly didn't know that kills people or you're lying to me. Which is it?" Kenji asked.

"I'm trying to say that I didn't want to kill you and here you are ignoring me!" Teruko yelled. "Maybe I should listen to the Council, you've grown into a cruel person. Mom and dad would hate you for who you are now!"

Kenji flinched and turned her back. Teruko ran to her with a kunai knife, her feet made splashing sounds on the water. Kenji lifted her hand and caught Teruko's wrist. Her shiny knife clanged and was shaking in her fist.

"She's finally shown her true colors. But now that's it's come to this. . .!"

**!** Teruko slightly gasped as Kenji brought her leg up and pressed her foot into her stomach. She let go of her and she was kicked away. "I have to hurry and get out of here!" she thought.

Kenji zigzag jumped up the sides of the waterfall. But then Teruko appeared in front of her as she was in the air. She gasped and Teruko raised her leg high. She kicked her back down to the water. Teruko landed on the water, "I'm not letting you get away." she said.

Kenji got out of the water and stood back up. "Kuso!" she cursed. She remembered what Kakashi said._ "I'll let you settle things with Teruko first."_

"Kakashi Sensei, you knew this would happen didn't you?" Kenji squeezed her fist. Teruko made the tiger seal. "Water style: Gunshot!" water blasted from her mouth at bullet speed.

Kenji dodged it and it landed further down the lake. She ran towards her, Teruko tried punching her but Kenji wide stepped next to her and rotated her leg around and kicked her in the back.

Teruko stumbled and Kenji took the chance and took a small chakra rod between her index and middle finger. She placed it into the top of her shoulder.

**!** Teruko took Kenji's arm and threw her off. While she was still in the air Teruko's hands emitted in blue chakra. She jumped up, Kenji saw her and took out a kunai knife. Teruko moved her hand in a slicing motion.

**! !** Kenji saw her knife's blade get completely severed from its handle. Teruko brought her hand forward Kenji moved her head to her left but Teruko's jutsu still scratched her face.

Teruko hit Kenji's shoulder. "Ah!" Kenji brought her head back in pain. Teruko was about to hit her again. But Kenji crossed her arms in front of her in defense. Teruko's chakra scalpel sliced into Kenji's right arm, she happened to tear open her scar. Blood gushed from her wound.

They both landed on the water. Teruko's jutsu just stopped and she was panting, "My chakra feels like it's being drained." she thought.

Kenji looked at her scar it had been stitched for years and hidden. Now it was bleeding again. Who would've guessed that the one who reopened her scar would be her only sibling. She also felt a pain in her shoulder.

"The muscles in your shoulder have been tampered with not just your bones! It will take a long time to heal." Teruko said.

"My wounds don't last long they'll heal on their own soon." Kenji said.

"Funny cuz the one on your forearm doesn't look good at all." Teruko remarked seeing Kenji's blood drip into the water. Teruko took five shurikens in each hand she threw them at her.

Kenji took out a chakra blade and twirled it to block each throwing star. Teruko took out her own Mokuton sword and ran towards her. Her sword clashed with Kenji's blade.

They pushed their weapons away and clashed again only their faces were closer and they made clear eye contact. Teruko went and scratched her on the left arm. She went for a stab in the face and Kenji bent back at the waist to dodge.

She jumped back and Teruko came for her again. She sliced her sword towards her which was deflected. Kenji was causing her to back up and kept clashing swords with her. She got scratched on the right leg and then she snapped Teruko's sword.

She was caught off guard and Kenji kneed her in the stomach and smacked her in the head with her elbow.

Teruko was pushed back on one knee. Kenji rushed to her and Teruko quickly took out two kunai knives.

Kenji had stabbed her blade through Teruko's leg above the knee and Teruko impaled her knives on both sides of Kenji's waist. They both backed away from each other panting. Teruko tried to take the blade out of her leg but ended up falling down on the water.

Kenji was still standing but then a bunch of branches came out of her right leg and she fell down. Then another bunch of bloody branches violently came from her left arm.

Kakashi appeared between them, "What are you doing here?" Teruko asked. He walked over to her and brought her arm around his shoulder. He helped her up.

"I came to help you guys out and make sure neither of you died." he answered.

The small rod came out of Teruko's shoulder and into Kenji's hand. She sloppily walked over and put her hand on the blade that was in Teruko's leg.

"Ngh!" Teruko groaned in pain for a short time as Kenji yanked the blade out. The wound on Teruko's leg healed.

Kenji's chakra gave out and her feet fell through the water. She blacked out and was about to fall until Kakashi made a shadow clone and caught her. He held her and looked at her wounds, her blood still dripped to the water. "Are these tree branches coming out of her body?" he asked.

"Yeah." Teruko answered and dropped her head. "I'm so stupid!"

"Don't worry it wasn't your fault it was Kurenai's."


	40. Negotiation

Negotiation

"I never thought I'd be back here so soon." Kenji said in a hospital bed. There was a glass of water next to her and she took it. She was about to drink it until she saw chakra swirling in it. "Someone spiked this." she said and put it back.

She didn't have tree branches sticking out of her body anymore. She was wearing shorts and a tank top. She walked out of her room, "How lucky am I? None of the staff are here." she said.

Naruto and Shikamaru were in another room. "Girls don't come to visit guys like you. Here." Shikamaru said and tossed him an apple.

"Yo!" Kenji came in the room.

"I stand corrected." he said.

"You're visiting?" Naruto asked her.

"Not really," Kenji sat on the bed. "I got my butt kicked and I woke up in another room." she stretched her hand out towards the nearby fruit basket and an apple came straight to her hand.

"Huh? You got hurt?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, I got into a fight with my sister. Also. . ." she looked at her forearm. It wasn't bandaged and the stitches were torn. "That was one of the most intense fights I've ever been in." she said and chewed into her apple. Shikamaru had a flashback.

_Kakashi was carrying her unconscious body and was in front of Team 10. "Is_ _she_ _dead?" Asuma asked._

_"No she's not dead." Kakashi answered._

_"What happened to her?" Ino asked._

_"Kurenai-"_

_"Kurenai Sensei did that!?" she exclaimed._

_"No Kenji's sister beat her up. But it was Kurenai's fault." Kakashi answered._

"What? Is your sister crazy? Why'd she do something like that?" Shikamaru asked.

"Two reasons, she's pretty mad at me for something I did in the past. Also the council asked her to serve my head on a grill." she answered.

"The council?" Naruto asked. Kenji bit into her apple again.

"Yeah those old geezers who work with the Hokage." she said. "They're the worst, the sooner they shrivel up and die the better." she spit an apple seed into her hand. It was quiet for a minute.

"Do you guys feel that?" Naruto asked.

"Now that you mention it, I saw these shadows appearing behind me on my way here." Kenji said.

"And this murderous intent. . ." Shikamaru said. The three of them ran out of the room. They caught Gaara using his sand on Lee and Shikamaru stopped him with his Shadow Pocession jutsu.

Naruto punched him across the face and Shikamaru also reacted. "Oi Naruto!" When I'm using the Kage mane no jutsu, I move along with him. Oi?" he said.

"Wari, Shikamaru." Naruto apologized.

"Oi, Shikamaru. How long can your jutsu last?" Kenji asked him.

"5 minutes." he answered.

"For real?" Kenji asked surprised.

"Yeah for real! It's a drag but that's how long it lasts." he said.

"Got it." she said.

"What were you trying to do?!" Naruto demanded.

"To kill him." Gaara answered.

"Why? You already won the match." Shikamaru said.

"You're weird." Kenji said. "You're from Suna and you're here to take the chunin shiken. Yet you're trying to kill someone from Konoha. That's a cheap move." she said.

"If you keep this up I'll kill you too." Gaara said.

He made them anxious. "What was that?! I'll clobber you for that!" Naruto said.

"Yeah, you're in the wrong here. Trying to kill our comrades pisses us off!" Kenji backed him up.

Shikamaru tried bluffing, "We know you're strong but don't think you're something special. We're also pretty strong and it's one against three. You're at a disadvantage." he said.

"I'll say it again. If you bother me I'll kill you, starting with you." he eyed Kenji.

"That's it! When Shikamaru's jutsu releases I'm removing his soul!" she thought.

"This guy has a monster's strength." Shikamaru said.

"Who cares?" Kenji said. "I can strip him of his soul with my bare hands." she said.

"I have an actual monster inside me." Naruto said proudly.

"A monster. . . That would make us the same." Gaara said.

**! !** Naruto and Kenji were shocked. Gaara explained his background and Naruto started to get deep in thought and relate to his pain.

"Hmph." Kenji said. "It's not like I don't get where you're coming from. But your screwed up sense of identity does not change your position." she said firmly. "We have the guts to kill you for trying to murder Gejimayu. That's what nakama are!" she said. Then Shikamaru's jutsu wore off and Gaara's sand went wild.

**! ! !** Naruto, Kenji, and Shikamaru were in danger now. "You two stay behind me!" Kenji said. Sand gathered up and came towards them like a drill.

"Yamero!" the sand stopped just away from Kenji's face. Guy came inside and told everyone to stop the hostility.

Gaara left the room but not before saying. "I will kill you guys for sure. Just you wait."

When he left the three sighed in relief. Shikamaru even fell down. "What a hassle!" he complained.

"Man, maybe I should hang out with you guys more." Kenji said.

Later she and Naruto got changed and the three of them left the hospital. Shikamaru left Naruto and Kenji behind. Then they found Kakashi in front of them. "Yo!"

"Tch!" Kenji knew what he wanted.

"Huh? What?" Naruto asked.

"Sorry but, could you wait here? This is personal." she asked him.

Kakashi and Kenji talked behind a tree. "What? I want to resume my training ASAP and I sure as hell don't wanna talk about her!" Kenji said.

"You'll have to suffer then. It wasn't her fault." Kakashi said.

"Ha! You weren't there! You have no idea what went down!" Kenji said angry.

"True, I wasn't there. But I caught on as soon as I caught Kurenai red handed." he said.

"What are you talking about?" Kenji asked.

"Do you know what Kurenai's expertise is? Genjutsu. And do you know what Genjutsu does?" he asked.

"Yeah!" she said.

"It fools your senses and tricks your mind. Kurenai can make people see things she wants them to see." he explained.

"Impossible!" Kenji said. "If it were Genjutsu I would've been able to see the changes in chakra." she told him.

"Yes and no. Your Kekkei Genkai can see chakra well enough to catch any difference or abnormality but you weren't looking at her. Your clone was." he said. "Unless you implanted your actual eyes in your clone, you couldn't detect the Genjutsu." Kakashi said.

"Why are you telling me this? I thought you wanted nothing to do with this?" Kenji asked.

"That was before things started adding up and before I caught Kurenai meddling in with your problems." he said.

"What do you mean by adding up?" she said confused.

"Teruko used to live here, she was somewhat cut off because the village was trying their best to protect her. And she and her parents disappear when we needed her." he started. "The Anbu found their house damaged as if a brutal struggle took place. They also found a corpse and a severed leg." he said.

"Ok so maybe the family had a fight with someone and moved to safer location. You said the village tried to protect her." Kenji told him.

"Your theory does sound logical but I'm gonna keep giving the details." he said. "Kayoko-san was Teruko's mother. She was pregnant, the Hokage knew. Teruko attended the Academy yet we cannot find her parents. We stopped spying on her and everything after she became a Genin. But by then Konoha had another problem."

Kenji didn't like where this was going.

"The Anbu found a shoujo just a shoujo and decided to take her to Konoha." his speech started getting more slow paced and clear. "When she woke up we found that she wasn't like any other kid we would've encountered. She had a rather "disturbing" Kekkei Genkai, that's the first thing we found out about you. The village assumed you were a danger that needed to be eradicated. But you're human and you were of enrolling age." he said.

"As your Jonin teacher, these are somethings that I found out. You're a member of the Senju clan, you have a strong desire to be the one who protects and not protected, and you have a severe and unexplained phobia of snakes. And don't say it's gone away you may have repressed it but it's definitely still there." he told her.

"Where are you going with this?" Kenji said.

"Kenji this links back a long way. I know that Orochimaru wanted the Mokuton jutsu, he got what he wanted didn't he?" he asked. "If I'm right it'll explain why your family went missing and where you came from. It also explains your phobia, it developed from your early childhood." he said.

"What does all this have to do with her?" Kenji asked him.

"I think you should make peace with her. She never wanted to kill you." Kakashi said.

"Fine, I'll go look for her." she said.

"Don't worry about that she'll find you like she always does." Kakashi said and disappeared.

Kenji came out and walked back over to Naruto. "Sorry about that." she apologized. "You can go home if you want I still have some problems I need to deal with." she said.

"That's wise of you." Teruko said. "You might as well leave Naruto. You probably don't want to see her in her worse state." she told him. Then looked at Kenji. "I'll give you credit for not involving your comrades in your sh*t." she was standing beyond them with a hand on her hip.

Kenji turned around and took a few steps. "That's right. My personal burdens are my own, I'd never dump them on a nakama." she said.

"Are you gonna say it?" Teruko asked.

"It." Kenji replied and Teruko growled. "Gomene, I wrongly accused you." Kenji said bowing her head.

"I also want to know what happened to you. I want to know how you came to be like this." Teruko said. "I have a right to know." she added.

Kenji turned her head, Naruto was still there behind her. "Ok."

* * *

**Hey guys, I'm grinding to write because I don't like using excuses. And a lot of people on this site do. I don't get a lot of reviews and I'm glad for the few positive ones I get. Stay awesome.**


	41. Because I love you

Because I love you

"It's not something I like to remember but you deserve to know." she said. "I completely trust you both with my memories." she looked at the two of them. She sighed, "Back then, I did a lot of stupid things so I wouldn't get bored. Eventually I faced the consequences." she told them.

_A young Kenji was on the floor stomach down resting her head on her arms. She looked a spider crawling on the floor. "You sure grow fast. And how did you get eight arms?" she asked it. "If I could grow up faster I'd be able to go outside. And if I had eight arms I'd be able to beat Aneki in Janken." she said. The spider just crawled away to a spiderweb. She saw it crawl to two other spiders which reminded her of parents. _

_She got up and walked to her mother's room. "Kaa-chan, are you awake?" she asked. _

_"Kenji come on in." Kayoko said and Kenji sat down beside her. _

_"I just saw a family of spiders." she told her mom. "Kaa-chan, how are babies made?" she asked her. _

_**!** Kayoko's cheeks flushed. She yawned, "Oh man! I just lost track of time, I'm suddenly exhausted. G'night!" she covered herself in the blankets._

_"Eh!? Kaa-chan!? Kaa-chan, tell me!" Kenji grasped the blankets in her hands and put her foot on the bed. She tried to pull off the blanket and use her leg for extra strength but she had a small body so she just fell down._

_She got back up and left the room and her boredom returned. "I wish I had something to do." she thought. Then she accidentally tripped over her feet because she wasn't paying attention. "Ow!" then she heard it echo through the halls. _

_She stood back up and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Hellooo!" she shouted and it echoed. "Helllllllooooooo~!" she held the last syllables longer. She ran through the halls while dragging her hand on the wall. _

_Then a much larger hand grabbed her wrist. "You're the most annoying thing I've ever seen." said Orochimaru who still had her wrist in hand. "You just keep shouting and shouting until something happens and it's so obnoxious. You have to learn to shut your big mouth." he scolded. _

_Then he started pulling her. "Hey!" Kenji struggled. She tried to pull her wrist free and push her feet against the floor to slow them down. "What are you doing!?" she said. _

_Orochimaru bent down and unlocked a small black door. A snake slithered out and off his arm. It went into the dark room and Orochimaru grasped Kenji's shirt. He threw her in there. _

_"Ah!" Kenji landed hard on the floor. It was covered in ashes and they made her cough. Orochimaru also tossed a kunai in there and put his hand on the door. Kenji gasped, "Wait!" she tried standing up but her head crashed against the ceiling. She fell down again. _

_"This crematory's too short for you to stand up. For your annoying habits I'm gonna lock you in here." he said. "And eventually you'll starve to death unless. . ." the snake behind Kenji hissed. She gasped and looked back at it. "Unless you're willing to kill that and use it to live." he said and slammed the door shut. _

_Everything became dark. It's been a week now and boredom was now the least of Kenji's problems. She couldn't see anything and almost every other minute all she could hear was the snake. There were also times when she accidentally inhaled the ash. She was grasping the kunai knife and sitting while hugging her knees. _

_"I don't like it here. I don't like it at all. I can't even see my own hands and it smells awful in here. My tongue is too swollen. . ." she thought. Then she gasped hearing the snake hiss again. Tears came from her eyes. _

_She crawled over to the snake and held the knife up. She was still crying, "Gomen nasai." _

_Orochimaru was walking by the door and he saw vomit leaking from the bottom crack. He smirked and bent down. _

_Light came into the room and Kenji was lying there on her front side with her head in her arms. Orochimaru reached in and grabbed her hair. He pulled her out and closed the door. _

_He stood up, "Oi, wake up." he threw her into the floor. A bloody kunai that was grasped in her hand fell out. It was covered in dry blood. Kenji just lay limb on the floor her clothes were dirtied with ash. _

_Orochimaru came and kicked her. "Have you learned your lesson? Because if you haven't I'm throwing you back in there and I might turn the gas on this time." he said. _

_Kenji pressed her hands on the ground and got on her hands and knees. She tried crawling but she was too weak and fell on the ground again. "I like how much quieter you are now." Orochimaru said and walked over to her. He dragged her by the ankle through the hall. _

_He stopped in a courtyard where Kenji's parents were. "Here." he tossed Kenji in front of them. _

_"Kenji!" Nojirama sat her up in front of him. "She's filthy!" he thought. _

_"What happened to her!?" Kayoko demanded. _

_"I merely punished her for misbehaving. I locked her in the crematory for the week." Orochimaru answered. _

_"That's where she was. . ." Nojirama said. "Why would you do that!? She doesn't deserve to be cremated!" he said. _

_"I never tried to cremate her. I didn't turned on the gas this past week I just left her there." he said and turned his back. "You need to raise your daughter better than that. Otherwise she wouldn't have suffered." he said as he left._

_"Tch! I hope he burns in Hell!" Kayoko said. _

_"Tou-chan. . ." Kenji started sniffling. She started crying and Nojirama put her on his lap. Kayoko got on one knee she tried brushing some of the ash off. _

_"He's gone now so you can relax. I'll make you some tea if you want." she said in a caring voice. _

_"Kaa-chan, I'm sorry for being a nuisance just. . ." she sniffed and wiped her eye. "Don't make me go back in there! It was scary and it got to me. And there was nothing I could do about it. . .!" she cried. _

_Kayoko stood up. "Suman, Kenji." she said. "It's our fault that you're trapped here." she said bitterly. _

_"Tou-chan, he's so mean!" Kenji said still crying._

_"Shh, I know I know. You can calm down now." Nojirama said smoothing her hair._

_Calm down isn't all, do you know how late it is!?" Teruko asked. Her voice echoed and the family turned to look at her._

_"Aneki. . ." Kenji thought and her tears stopped._

_ "Why are you crying!? You can't have everything your way and that doesn't give you the right to act so annoying!" she scolded._

_"Teruko. . ." Kayoko said._

_"I'm going back now." Teruko said and left them._

_Later Kayoko was tucking Kenji in. "Kaa-chan I don't want to go to sleep." she told her._

_"Your body needs sleep, Kenji." Kayoko said. _

_"But what if he comes? I might wake back in there again." she cried. _

_"Ok." Kayoko said and a rock wall grew up in front of the door. Kayoko took a chair and put it in front of the wall. "I'll stay here and protect you then." she said and sat down in the chair. _

_Kenji pulled her blanket over herself and lay on her side. "Sleep, Kenji." Kayoko said. Kenji took her big pillow and snuggled with it. She closed her eyes. "Kenji, I can tell you're still awake." her mom said. _

_"I'm scared." Kenji admitted._

_"You don't need to be." Kayoko told her. _

_"Why?" she asked. _

_Kayoko smiled, "Because I love you." she said. Kenji's eyes relaxed and she blinked a few times before falling asleep. When she woke up Kayoko was still there. Kenji sat up. _

_"Did you sleep well?" Kayoko asked. _

_"Yeah." she said. _

_"You kind of overslept, Teruko will be back from school any minute." Kayoko she said and punched the rock wall. It crumbled down and she cleared the door. Kenji got of her bed and put her shoes on. _

_Kayoko took her hand and led her out the door. She got her a glass of water. "Here drink this. You'll feel better." she said and Kenji took it. _

_But she dropped it and the glass broke. She fell on the floor and started screaming and kicking. Kayoko gasped, "Kenji!" she freaked out and tried her best to keep calm. Teruko even ran in._

_"What happened!?" Teruko said worried. Kenji vomited and it made Teruko gasp. "What's going on!?" she said._

_Kayoko turned Kenji over on her back and tried healing her. "That won't work."__ Orochimaru said. The family all looked at him. "Her body is poisoned, medical ninjutsu won't remove it." he said. _

_Teruko grabbed his shirt and slammed him against the wall. "You poisoned her!?" she asked._

_"Haven't you noticed that she was gone for a week?" Orochimaru asked. "I wasn't the one who poisoned her. She poisoned herself." he grinned. "She was locked in a room with no food or water. The only other thing there was a venomous snake." he said. "To prolong her life she killed it. She used it's blood for water and ate the rest." he said. __"In the end she would die either way." __he said._

_"You bastard!" Kayoko growled._

_Later Kayoko told Nojirama that their youngest child was going to die. Teruko was holding Kenji, Nojirama's eyes had a sparkle and he ended up crying._

"It made me think seeing my dad cry for the first time. How important I was to them, but I didn't return the favor." Kenji said.


	42. Awakened Rinnegan

Awakened Rinnegan

_Kenji's big eyes started wavering while watching her sister's back. Her last memory of her would be her leaving. When she did leave, Kenji's head fell down. "I feel bad, weak, fragile. . ." she thought. She lay on her side and shut her eyes. "I feel dead." _

_A light shined in her face and her eyelids tightened. She put an arm over her face and sat up. She coughed a bunch of times. _

_"Kenji, are you ok?" her dad asked her. _

_Kenji felt around her chest and face. "I'm alive!" she said. _

_"Well mostly, you had your toes rearranged." Kayoko said. _

_"What!?" she panicked and grabbed her ankle. She looked at her foot._

_"Kenji, your mom's kidding. At an inconvenient time too." Nojirama said. _

_"Wari wari." Kayoko apologized. _

_Kenji coughed. "But how? I really felt dead just a little bit ago." she said. _

_"You got your stomach pumped and the poison was removed so you wouldn't die." Nojirama told her. _

_"Yeah we saw this tube get stuck down your throat and-" Kayoko was elbowed by her husband. "Oh sorry, anyway you're not dead!" she exclaimed._

_"But not all of the poison is gone ok. So you have to drink this." Nojirama handed her a teacup. _

_Kenji smelled it, "Ggh! Are you kidding me!?" she said. _

_"Hey! It took me forever to make that!" Kayoko yelled at her. "Listen you have to drink the antidote because your body is still poisonous and you're at risk of some more vomiting. . ." she added. _

_Kenji pushed back any sweet tooth she had and drank it. "Ugh!" she groaned. _

_"You might as well get used to it." Nojirama said and tried helping her off the table. She took his hand and fell on the floor. "Looks like you need to adapt to your body." he said and lifted her up by her underarms. _

_"Let's see." Kayoko was looking at a wooden cane. She snapped it in half and picked off some of the splinters. "That should be 'bout your size." Kayoko said handing her the cane. _

_Kenji took it with her right hand and started using it to walk. Soon Teruko came home with her Konoha headband. She helped Kenji walk again and also gave her her second does of medicine. _

_"Look at this," Teruko said and held her hand out. Flowers grew from her hand. "These are the flowers I can grow." she said. "My favorite flowers are amaryllises. But unfortu__nately I can't grow them." she said._

_"Amaryllises?" Kenji repeated._

_"Yeah, another type of flowers." Teruko told her. "One day you'll see how beautiful the world is. Kenji, every time you see amaryllises it means that I love you." she said._

_"Every time?" Kenji asked._

_"That's right." Teruko answered. "And it's not just when you see those flowers but always." she said and Kenji smiled._

_Late at night when Kenji was sleeping with her parents the door creaked open and Kenji's eyes opened. _

_**! **A weapon was pointed at her neck. A guy with green eyes and white hair was holding what looked like his bone. "Not one sound kid." he threatened. Kenji nodded in agreement and his bone went back into his body. _

_Later her arm was belted down to a table with a bright light shining over it. "Kora! What is this!?" she tried yanking her arm out but it just resulted in red rubbing marks. Orochimaru came over with a marker, he uncapped it and drew a line straight down Kenji's forearm. The line went over her blue veins. He put the marker away and took out a scalpel. _

_Kenji's eyes widened and she started struggling harder. Orochimaru gasped when the table was knocked on it's side. Kenji pushed her feet on the table and tried pulling her arm free. That same guy that could control his bones came and put the table back in place. He also slammed Kenji head on the table, he held her still by pressing her down by the head and shoulder. _

_"Hanase!" she kept on kicking. _

_"Your brattiness is annoying, if you keep squirming it'll hurt a lot more." he said. His body started changing, black markings covered his chest and arms. It also gave him extra strength he used it to restrain her completely._

_Orochimaru placed a scalpel at the top of the line and started to cut her arm open. "Rrrghhh! Aaahhhaaa! It hurts!" she squeezed her fist and when her arm had a long vertical cut it started bleeding a lot. She was sucking through her teeth. _

_They then started implanting blood in the wound, it was less painful than when they cut it open. But then they started stitching it and Kenji started screaming again. _

_**! **She woke up again and Teruko was looming above her. "Oi, you kick a lot in your sleep." she said. Kenji tore off the blanket. "I'm heading out so wait here and try not doing anything that will beat yourself up ok?" Teruko said to her. _

_"Un." Kenji nodded. _

_"Alright. See ya." Teruko left. _

_Kenji looked at her forearm it was bandaged and she tore the gauze away. She saw the long stitches. "I wanted to think it was a nightmare. But what's he trying to do?" she thought. Her arm was sore. _

_She walked out to her parents. "Tou-chan, Kaa-chan. Why does Aneki still have to leave everyday? I thought she graduated from the Academy." Kenji asked them. _

_"Teruko's a genin now. She has to do a lot of missions and tasks for Konoha." her father said. _

_"So I still won't get to see her all day?" she asked. _

_"Yeah, but it should be around the same time she usually comes home." her mom said to her._

_"Being a shinobi sounds very busy. . ." Kenji thought. "But even so I'm stuck here." she complained. _

_"Don't worry. You'll get to go out someday." Nojirama told her. _

_"Hmmm. . ." Kenji started to feel like they were only trying to stall her. Then her eyes and face froze. "Ah. . ." her voice sounded small. Orochimaru had his neck stretched out and his two fangs planted in the back of Kenji's neck. When he pulled his teeth out Kenji fell to the ground with a hand on her neck. _

_"He bit her?" Nojirama thought._

_Kenji's breathing started going out of pace. Then her heart thumped, her pupils compressed. She pressed both of her hands on the back of her neck and screamed painfully. The Heaven curse mark formed. _

_Her parents started worrying for her then Orochimaru pulled her away by her collar. He held Kenji's head in place making her face her parents. The pain of the curse mark kept her from doing anything but watch and scream. "Kill them!" Orochimaru ordered. _

_Nojirama and Kayoko's eyes widened as a blade stabbed them through the hearts. Blood splattered to the floor. The blades were pulled and they fell to the ground. Kayoko's wooden leg fell off. Kenji stopped screaming and she was just frozen. _

_Her parents both cried, their tears were then lost in their own blood. _

_Kenji started hiccuping, tears came from her new eyes. Her Rinnegan. Then she started sobbing like the immature and naive child she was._

Teruko looked at her with shocked eyes. "I waited for you to come back." Kenji said. "After that I just wanted your support but that's not what I got. When you came back I learned what everyone else would think of me as. . . As some monster!" she said. "I learned that it wasn't something I should feel guilty about but I've never felt more helpless and weak. . ."

_Kenji was in a cell she was silent and miserable. Then her parents corpses were thrown in there with her. She sniffed and rubbed her eyes. "Gomene! I let you guys die, if only I had been stronger maybe you would've lived. . ." she cried. Her parents faces looked pained and hurt. It was very disturbing to her, she turned to the brick wall behind her._

_"I want to leave! I don't care where I end up! Anything is better than this!" she cried. Her pupil dilated and a hole was blasted through the wall. She could see the night, the moon, a river, trees, the starry sky. _

_She was running on a dirt path. Her bruised body started aching but then her curse mark seemed to flare. She gasped and fell down._

_She fell on the ground exhausted, her vision started to turn all blurry. She passed out._

* * *

**Ok! I've got a new story out and it's a prequel yes. It might be a side story but it will full of exposition check it out if you want to read about back when Minato was still a genin and about his team.**


	43. School sucks

School sucks

_She was unconscious in a bed with white sheets and a plain blanket. Some black ops were also in the room, they didn't have their masks on and they were being casual._

_Uchiha Itachi walked up to the bed and put her hand underneath her bangs and felt her forehead. "It's cold." he thought._

_"Hey why'd we pick this kid up again?" one the black ops asked._

_"Because, 'this kid' was all alone and it was dangerous in that area." Itachi answered. "This child looks about Sasuke's age. . ." he thought and lifted his hand off._

_"Oi Itachi." one of his colleagues called. Itachi turned toward him. "When found that kid do you remember that mark on the back of their shirt?" he asked him._

_Itachi thought back. He remembered seeing a white sort of symbol on her back when she was found knocked out. "Yeah, but what caught my attention most was that bruise on his neck. So I didn't think anything about it." Itachi answered._

_"That mark is actually a crest. The crest of the Senju clan." the Anbu answered._

_Itachi's eyes widened and he immediately thought of a genin leveled girl he'd fought before. The one who could heal wounds and grow entire forests._

_He was so lost in thought that he just noticed Kenji was awake. She was staring at him._

_**! ! ! !** Every black op in the room was shocked. They took out their weapons and pointed them at her. This scared her and she covered herself in the blanket._

_"Hey, you guys." Itachi turned to face his comrades. "This child's not our enemy." he told them._

_"You saw them right?" one of the black ops asked._

_"Yeah. I did." he answered. He faced the bed. "Oi, you can come out now." he said._

_Pale and slightly bloody fingers grabbed the blanket and pulled them below her eyes so she could see. The Anbus were tense but Itachi remained calm. "Why are they all looking at me like that?" she asked._

_"Anno, what's your name?" he asked._

_Kenji remembered what her mother said once. "If any stranger asks for your name mislead them. People outside of here can be deceptive so you have to be prepared for any of their tricks." Kayoko's voice said._

_"It's not important." Kenji said and sat up. She had a headache._

_"Here use this." Itachi handed her a hand mirror. Kenji took it and looked at herself. She saw her eyes. "This is what I look like?" she asked._

_"Yeah." Itachi said. "Listen, you are in Konohagakure and we need to know more about you for our village." he said._

_"Kenji, if you ever see a mark like this. It's Konoha, you can be safe there." her father said in her memories showing a mark resembling a leaf._

_"I'm Kenji, Senju Kenji. I'm 6." she said._

_"Are you a boy or a girl?" Itachi asked her._

_"I'm a girl." she answered._

_"Ok, Kenji. I'll take you to see the Hokage." he said and grabbed her hand. He led her to the door but when he opened it sunlight immediately raced in and Kenji backed away. "What's wrong?" he asked. _

_"So bright. . ." she said. _

_"Yeah, it's day so the sun is out." he said. "Are you not used to the sunlight?" he asked her. _

_"Yeah. . . It's much brighter than candles or torches. . ." Kenji told him. _

_"Just follow me." Itachi said and grabbed her hand. She walked into the sunlight with him and shut her eyes. Slowly she opened one eye and then got used to seeing with both._

_Later they were in front of the Hokage's office many other black ops came with their masks for protection for their leader. The door was opened for her and she sat with her legs folded underneath her in the middle of the room. _

_A man smoking a pipe in robes had his back turned to her. "This is the child we found outside the village, Hokage-sama." one of the black ops said. _

_The third Hokage turned his head to look at her. She had her head down she looked a little dusty and bruised. Her fingernails had dirt underneath them and her fingers had some dried blood on them. She brought her head up and they had complete eye contact. _

_"You all may leave. I wish to have a private conversation with her." he said in his elderly voice. _

_"But Hokage-sama. . .!" one of the ninjas said."_

_"Just leave, you all have other duties to do and I'm sure this child is harmless." he said. _

_"Hai." all the Anbu agents exited the room leaving Kenji alone with the Hokage. _

_He set down his pipe and put his hands on his lap. "Kenji, from what I was told you were found collapsed outside our village on the ground. You should be more careful there are disgusting people rumored to be there who'd do terrible things." he said to her. __"About that mark. . ." _

_Kenji's eyes widened afraid he'd mention the thing that kept stabbing her in the neck and that was given to her by him!_

_"On your shirt, it's familiar to our village." he said regarding the 'mark' "Do you have any family, Kenji or someone to take care of you?" he asked her. _

_Kenji nodded a no. _

_"We have a school for training children to become shinobi. If you want I can enroll y-" _

_"I'll do it!" Kenji interrupted instantly. _

_"Wait, think about this." the Hokage said._

_"No! I'm too weak, I never want to be helpless again! I want to be strong. . ." she told him. "If I had been just a little stronger Kaa-chan and Tou-chan wouldn't have died. I'll do anything to be a shinobi!" she thought._

_"Then we'll place you in the school and you'll soon be oriented." he said. _

_The day of orientation she stood in lines with other students. Afterwards she stood under the tree outside squeezing her hands together and her feet angled inward shyly. "This is the first time I've seen people my age." she thought. _

_"Oi, look!" one of the kids said. "That ugly girl with the freaky face!" he pointed at Kenji making everyone look at her. _

_"Eww! I have to go to school with that person!?" one of the girls complained. _

_"AAIIIIEEEEE!" one of the mothers screamed and covered her child's innocent eyes. Kenji's cheek burned red and she turned away slightly and covered one of her eyes with her bangs. _

_One of the teachers came and grabbed her arm making her look at him. "Who said you could come here!?" he demanded. _

_"T-the Hokage. . ." she answered. _

_"Usotsuke!" he yelled at her. The white haired teacher threw her by the arm and she slid on the grass. A roar of laughter erupted from the crowd of children. Kenji's red cheeks came back and she clenched the grass in her hands. A clipboard hit her head. _

_"Beat it you monster!" the same teacher with shoulder length white hair. She got up and ran away with her head down. _

_She sat with her head in her knees and looked over at her reflection. She looked like a ghost with spooky eyes. She punched her reflection and the water splashed. "Why am I the only one who looks like this?" she asked. _

_In the Academy her class would tease her. "Hey look that's the freak that my parents told me to stay away from!" one of her classmates pointed at her. _

_"Kuh!" Kenji gritted her teeth. _

_"So hideous." someone else giggled and the rest of the class laughed. _

_"Senju Kenji, move to the back of the class." the teacher said. _

_"Eh? Why?" she asked. _

_"You seem to be disturbing the other classmates. The Academy does not tolerate distraction!" he said. __She was moved to the back table and sat in the middle seat. _

_Later she was punching a tree. She pounded her fists into the trunk and its bark was only a little cracked. "Chikusho! I can't even knock this thing down!" she thought. "But. . ." she looked up. __She started climbing it getting on a high spot where she could see Konoha's plateau. _

_Itachi found her and appeared on her branch. She had her head buried in her knees. "Leave me alone." she said. _

_"That doesn't seem like a good idea now does it?" Itachi told her. _

_"I hate school!" she said. _

_"School? Is it hard, long, boring?" he asked. _

_"They put me in these 'kunoichi' classes and all the people there are jerks!" she said. _

_"Bullying, huh? They're discriminating you for your eyes. . ." Itachi said. Kenji still had her head buried. Itachi sat criss crossed on the tree, "Want me to teach you something useful?" he said. _

_Kenji raised her head and looked at him. "It's called Genjutsu. It won't fix your eyes but it'll make them look different." he said. "Everyone but yourself will be fooled." he told her. _

_"Everyone?" she repeated. _

_"Well no. There are some shinobi that will be smart enough to catch the illusion. But a good number of people will see normal eyes if you learn this." he said._

_Kenji gave him her full attention. "Listen, concentrate and focus on your eyes and only your eyes." he said. Kenji shut her eyes and focused as hard as she could. "Try opening them." he said and she obeyed. "Now you're eyes look silver. But you can't keep this up all day so before you sleep put your hands together like this and say "Kai." Itachi demonstrated._

_After Itachi's little lesson they were walking beside each other. "Thanks, Itachi. You're one of the only people here who seems to like me. . ." she said. _

_"You're one of us now. I'm sure the village will learn that you're safe in time." he told her. Then he caught her looking at the windows of the flower shop. "Kenji?" she was looking at the amaryllises through the window. _

_"Nii-san!" someone called, they looked back to see a kid who resembled Itachi running to them. "I've been looking for you." he said._

_"Sorry, Sasuke." Itachi apologized._

_The kid then made eye contact with Kenji, "Who's that?" he asked. _

_"Kenji, this is Sasuke. My otouto." he told her. "And Sasuke, Kenji's in your year. I met her on a mission." he told Sasuke. _

_"Oh! You're that thing from the orientation!" Sasuke remembered and Kenji gasped. _

_"Sasuke!" Itachi scolded. _

_"I should have known! You Uchiha have the affection of the entire village and you love it! Someone like me is just a 'thing'!" she said. _

_Itachi said, "That's not true." _

_"It's not?" Sasuke asked being clueless asked. "But didn't father say-?" _

_"What did your father say?" Kenji asked him. _

_"That's enough Sasuke." Itachi said firmly. "Sorry but we have to go home." he apologized. _

_"Tch!" Kenji said and walked home. She closed the door behind her and put her hands together. "Kai." she said. She took of her shoes and walked through the small kitchen to her bedroom. She saw something folded on the bed, she changed into it leaving her clothes on the wooden floor._

_She was wearing an oversized white t-shirt. "I guess I'll have to sleep in this." she got under her blanket and looked at the ceiling. "Oyasumi."_


	44. The weak suffer

The weak suffer

_The third Hokage was watching the Academy students practice their shuriken target exercises. Sasuke seemed to get it down perfectly and the other students awed. "Grr!" Kenji growled and saw that her shurikens were just barely in the target. _

_She went to go retrieve them and then her Rinnegan saw something. She quickly jumped back and three throwing stars landed in the wood. If she hadn't dodged it they would spiked her. "Kora!" she yelled. Three boys laughed. _

_She punched the lead guy and he bumped into the two others behind him and they all fell back. "Behh!" she stuck her tongue out at them._

_Sasuke just looked at her with his innocent expression. She jerked her head around looking at him. "What are you looking at!?" she roared. _

_Sasuke jumped in his skin. He grabbed his bag and ran away. "Che! Pansy!" she thought._

_**Cue Loneliness.** After school she was walking through the village. That didn't seem to go very well because people started going out of their way to avoid her as much as possible. Then an adult pointed at her saying "That's the one who beat my son!"_

_Kenji's head shot up and she turned. But she wasn't fast enough because someone kicked the sole of his foot into her back sending her flying. She slid on the floor. "You may leave now." a jonin with big black glasses said. He was standing with another jonin who was smoking a cigar. _

_Kenji got up on her knees and rested her forearm where she was hit. She was grabbed by the back of her shirt and she was lifted onto her feet by the one who was smoking. "Why'd you attack a student?" the one with the glasses asked firmly. _

_"He started it by throwing shurikens at me." she said. _

_"Self defense? I don't buy it." the man with the cigar said. She lifted her more and her eyes and mouth widened. He had punched her in the gut, he twisted his fist further into her stomach and dropped her on her knees. She leaned over with her arms around her waist coughing and sucking in her breath heavily._

_"You shouldn't even be enrolled in the Academy. Drop out, you cannot become a genin." the ninja with glasses said. _

_The other one grabbed her bangs and she gritted her teeth. He sat her up. "Listen close, girl. If you attack one of our comrades again. We will kill you." he told her._

_"That's enough Asuma!" an elderly voice said. The jonin turned his head still grasping her bangs. "Ebisu too. . . I can't remember the last time I was so disappointed." the third Hokage said. _

_"Hokage-sama, this girl attacked a student and furthermore she's learning to be a ninja!" Ebisu said. "If she lives the whole village will be at risk of getting destroyed." he said._

_"If she's really that dangerous why'd you come to give her a beating?" their leader asked. "She's not a bad ninja very excellent for her age. I'd trust her with my life." he said. _

_"Oi, do you hear what you're saying? She's a monster that we can't control." Asuma said tightening his grip on her hair. She winced in pain. _

_"Kenji is one of us now and I am aware of her potential. But I believe that she will be able to learn and gradually understand how to control her power." the third Hokage told Asuma. "I think you know she wouldn't do a thing to the village and you're taking advantage of that." he added. _

_Asuma released her hair and she ran behind the Hokage. "You're going to regret not ending her when you had the chance." Asuma warned._

_In the office Kenji sat across from the third Hokage. "Jiji, are you really going to do that?" she asked him. _

_"What?" he asked. __Kenji moved her hand across her neck in a slicing motion. "No, I'd never even try to do that." he said._

_"I have one thing to ask." he told her. "Do you still want to be a shinobi? Even after all this?" he asked her. _

_"Yeah!" she said._

_"Hm, I believe you'll make a great ninja. You might even have a chance at the Hokage." he told. That last sentence was like an instant motivator to her. _

_"Really!? Yes! I'm awesome!" she shouted, she was all cheered up. "Alright training time! You won't ever have to save my behind again!" she said enthusiastically and ran off._

_"Tou-chan, Kaa-chan! I might be as strong as you soon! I'll never be weak again, I can't be weak again!" she thought as she was running. Then her curse mark flared again. She gasped and fell on her knees she pressed her palm against her neck. _

_Then she heard a snake's hiss and her pupils shrunk. Her curse mark started putting images into her mind. Images of her parents' corpses and of him. . . She heard the hisses again. "Ahhhhhh!" she screamed terrified._

_She started inhaling heavily and wiping the sweat off her face. She walked to the forest and sat against a tree. There was another one in front of her, she focused on it and her eyes seemed to release an immense force that knocked it down. She stood up and ran over to it. "My Rinnegan has a lot of power. . . So this is what Konoha is afraid of." she thought. _

_She could see past many of the trees. "I spy with my Rinnegan eyes. . . KNIVES COMING IN AT 3 O'CLOCK!" she panicked and jumped onto a tree branch before she got hit. _

_Then she felt a warmth and turned her head. There was a huge fireball shooting toward her. She couldn't react on time and got blasted. She was sent flying and hit a tree. _

_She fell into the ground and saw masked people standing above her. "Remember take the eyes before killing her." she heard one of them say._

_She got up and jumped away. "Don't let her make it out alive!" the leader ordered and the squad disappeared. _

_Kenji was panting she ran as fast as she could. She didn't know what to do but to just run away. _

_One of the masked guys came and extended his sword out. Kenji's eyes shut and she griitted her teeth in pain. The blade was in her shoulder stabbed into her muscle. Blood started seeping out. _

_He forced the blade through her joint. "AHH!" she screamed and he yanked it out. He rotated on his foot and kicked her back with his free foot. _

_Other Anbu guys came and pressed her down to the ground. "Keep her still. If I mess this up I could destroy the eyes on accident." their leader said. He took out a scalpel and walked to her. He sat on her waist and put his hand on her face to keep her head in place. _

_He used his thumb and index finger to open her eye, "Kai." he said and released the Genjutsu. He raised his scalpel. Kenji's pupil shrunk and the knife was brought to her opened eye. "AHHAAAHH!" she screamed painfully. "Itai! Yamero!" _

_"I'm powerless. . . Why can't I do anything?" she thought. She kept groaning and sucking on her teeth. Her fingers were scrunched up in fists. "Ahah! Rrgh! Yamei!" _

_"Katon: Hosenka no jutsu!" (Fire style: Phoenix Flower jutsu!) a bunch of random fireballs blasted the Anbu ninjas off her. _

_"Kuso!" one of them said. Itachi came and he had someone with him. The Anbu retreated. _

_"Were they?" _

_"Yeah, they were no doubt Danzo's guys." Itachi's friend said. _

_Kenji rolled on her side and pressed her hands on her face. She started hiccuping and sobbing. "Waahhhh!" _

_Itachi and his friend Shisui ran over to her. "Oh no did he take one?" Kenji inhaled shakily. _

_"No. . ." her eye was still bleeding. "It hurt so much. . .!" she cried. Shisui took out some bandages. They started patching her up. _

_"They stabbed her here too." Itachi said wrapping her shoulder. _

_"Hey, why do you think Danzo attacked her?" Shisui asked him._

_"I'm positive that he wants the Rinnegan." Itachi answered. "So what do we do?" he asked. _

_"The only thing we can do. You talk to the Hokage I'll talk to Danzo." Shisui said._

_"But what about Kenji?" Itachi said, Kenji was still sniffling. _

_"You're right. It's dangerous to leave her alone. I've seen the brutality the jonins have used on her. She's not strong enough to stand up to the Anbu Roots on her own." Shisui said. "Alright you're on babysitting duties." _

_"What?" Itachi asked. _

_"Come on you're good with kids." Shisui said. _

_"Yeah, but my father. . . He despises her." Itachi said. _

_"Is there really no way to protect her?" Shisui asked him. "This girl, what are we gonna do with her? The Nara clan found one couple that have blood ties with her and they refused to adopt her. Not even the orphanage will take her in." he said. _

_"I guess I can do something. . ." Itachi said. _

_"Good, take care of her for now ok?" Shisui said happy that he got his way._

_At Itachi's home Mikoto opened the door. "Welcome back!" she said cheerfully but then saw the girl wrapped in bandages that Itachi was carrying on his back. _

_"She was attacked earlier she's just gonna stay for the night. If she does anything wrong I'll take responsibility for it." Itachi said. _

_"Ok, but what happened to her? It doesn't look like she got into some school fight." Mikoto said looking at her. "But I have no problem with it she can play with Sasuke for now." she said. _

_Kenji was staring intensely with a little bit of shock and amazement. Sasuke sweated, she was staring at a green toy dinosaur. "I've never seen anything like this." she said. _

_"It's just a toy." Sasuke told her. _

_"What's a toy?" Kenji asked him._

_"Uhh, it's just something you can play with I think. . ." Sasuke said unsure about his definition._

_"Suge, I wish I had one of these things. They look much cuter than the bugs." she said her cheeks were tinted with red. _

_"Also, I'm sorry for what I said that day. . ." Sasuke apologized. _

_Shadows covered Kenji's eyes. "I don't accept your apology. I just don't get what makes me less of a person." she said frustrated. "Sasuke, there's something I learned on my own. The weak ones are the ones who suffer and that person who always has to be saved. They bring down the people they love." she said explaining her ideology._

_"But shinobi are strong, shinobi protect who they love, shinobi save their loved ones. That's what I want to be. . ." she said._


	45. Passion isn't weakness

Passion isn't weakness

"I was determined to be a shinobi no matter what the adults said. So I toughened up, I became stronger and I was able to protect my comrades. That made me happy." Kenji smiled. "But it was lonely, throughout those days the adults would beat me and the jerks in the Academy would point and laugh. I coped with it through training, I would train so much till my hands and feet bled and every bone in my body, every muscle ached."

"And I felt better. But I still have a long way to go." she looked at her open palm. "I still can't fully control my Rinnegan! Until then I can't call myself a full fledged ninja!" she said clenching her fist.

"But why? You, you're ruthless now. Being compassionate is not being weak. Your mind and body can only take so much you can't do all the fighting on your own." Teruko said.

"Why not?" Kenji asked. "If I can't then I'm not strong enough, what's so bad about it?" she asked.

"Because you're hurting yourself and me." Teruko told her. "It looks like to me you've forgotten that people who care about you can also protect you." she said.

"No one will protect me." Kenji said.

". . . I would." she responded. Kenji looked at her surprised. "So would mom and dad. They did till the very end and they were happy." she said. "Remember that time? Because I will never forget. That time when you were locked in the crematory and you were forced to prolong your life but in the end you'd die. I was scared, and I admit there was a time when I wished I didn't have to take care of you."

"But I grew out of it, I learned how important you were right when I thought you'd be gone forever. But it was too little too late even after mom and dad saved your life you ran away and I thought you just gave up." Teruko said.

"Mom and dad. . ." she closed her eyes and her curse mark started spreading. "Look at this. This is who I am now." her skin looked covered in black spots it was creepy. "I've got all these gross wounds on my body and people are disgusted." she said. "Even you. No one would protect this freak you're looking at." Kenji said and looked at her palm. "I know I always deny it when people call me that. But deep down I know they're right." she said and her curse mark faded back into it's place.

"Have you changed your mind yet?" she asked.

"Hell no." Teruko said and Kenji was shocked. "People who say you're freaky aren't important in your life. But I am, I know it haven't done my best in my life but I plan on changing that." she said and reached into her pocket.

She held out her headband. Kenji looked at it's shiny plate and proud symbol. "I know that you're different from back then and that can't be helped I guess. But I will always be your big sister." she said calmly. "And definitely not your killer!" she grinned.

Kenji walked over to her and took her headband. She tied it around her forehead. She turned around. "Hey Naruto! Let's go get ramen!" she shouted.

"Awesome! Ramen dattebayo!" he cheered and they both ran onto the sidewalk. Kenji waved her hand in the air.

"Oi! Aneki! C'mon!" she said all hyper. Teruko smiled and giggled.

"Yoshi!" she said and also became enthusiastic.

"And by the way you're payin'!"

"The heck!?"

"Ahahaha!"

The following day the final round was gonna take place. Teruko was walking with Kenji. "Kenji, bring your weapons." Teruko said.

"Why? It's not like I'm gonna fight! I-I mean you saw what happened in my match!" Kenji said and sat down letting her legs plop on the grass. "I got a nice plan in my mind and the fight went smoothly just. . . _Those_ two fruit cakes! And did I ever tell you? I hate nobles!" she said.

"They think they can act like jerks just because they're well, nobles! And they treat everyone else like dirt!" she said ripping grass out of the ground and throwing it.

"I-I lost to him, proving how someone like me will always be dirt in the eyes of true genius." she said. Naruto happened to be listening from behind a tree of course Kenji noticed him but didn't bother to tell Teruko.

"Let's just go, I know Naruto's gonna beat his precious fate right out of him anyway." Kenji said. Naruto's spirit perked up.

"Yeah I'm gonna become a chunin and I can't be late. But you need to be ready you don't know it yet but your fight will come." she said.

"Alright, but in case you forgot my bedroom's a vinehouse now. I'm sure all the monkeys are already moved in." Kenji said.

"Don't sweat it I brought them." she said and tossed her her pouch and kunai holster.

"I really hate it when you go into my room." Kenji said.

"That's funny I kept thinking exactly that years ago whenever you jumped on my bed." Teruko said.

"Shut up, I was a little kid." she said with a blush of embarrassment. "Let's get going, if you get your butt kicked by Shino I'm gonna laugh." she said.

"Should I remind you that Neji beat you just a while ago?" Teruko asked. A depressed aura fell on Kenji.

They were walking to the arena. "How'd you get a four man team it's weird you know?" Teruko asked her as they walked.

"Of course I know. But why don't you tell Kurenai Sensei that? Cuz she's real peachy with me." Kenji said letting her sarcastic side out around her sister.

"Are you kidding me? She went that far? It must've been pretty last minute that Haruno girl's still on your team." Teruko said.

Kenji looked at the ground being aloof and accidentally bumped into Neji. They made eye contact and looked at each other with distain. "I see you fixed your headband. Too bad Naruto's gonna break it all over again." Kenji said.

"You really think that idiot will beat me?" Neji asked.

"I don't think I know. Because I can see things that you can't!" she grinned. Lightning clashed between their foreheads.

"Now now, children." Teruko led Kenji away. "Don't get cocky Hyuga!" Teruko yelled as she was looking back at Neji. "I saw the fight, you needed help to "beat" Kenji. She's very well as strong as you." she said.

Kenji blushed but Neji scowled. Teruko just walked, she tried grabbing Kenji's hand but she immediately yanked it away. Sadness came over Kenji's face.

"Your hands are cold." Teruko said.

"Huh?"

Teruko took her right hand and clasped it tightly. Kenji felt like her hand was burning. "I have to wait for the tournament to start with the other participants." she said.

"Ok. I'll be watching." Kenji said.

"Where're you gonna sit?" she asked her.

"Uhh. . ." Kenji asked her to squat down and she whispered in her ear. Neji was observing them and he used his Byakugan to read her lips. _"Actually the Council forbid me from attending the tournament because foreign authority figures are coming. But since you, Naruto, and Sasuke are fighting I decided to disobey them and come. I'll be hiding 'kay?" _

"That's interesting, she's not allowed to be here. I guess reporting her can wait, becoming chunin is my current priority." Neji thought.


	46. The tournament

**In order to make these stories as short has possible I'm gonna skip the tournaments to get everything down almost everything goes the same Naruto beats Neji and makes him realize that destiny is something you control. The match between Teruko and Shino, I've decided to make it a draw.**

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"What's the meaning of this?" Kenji thought. She sat hidden in a tree while she watched what went on. "That's Orochimaru!"

**?** She looked at her palm, "It's sweaty!" she remembered what Kakashi said. "You may have repressed it but it's definitely still there."

"Dang it!" she said. "He's probably using the Transform jutsu or maybe Genjutsu! This is bad! I can't sneak in there without getting unwanted attention with all those guards!" she thought.

She watched the fights go by but couldn't enjoy them because of her overwhelming fear. However when Naruto was fighting Neji, Kenji became very interested she could read their lips. "I'm seriously pissed off at you!" Naruto shouted with blood dripping down his chin.

"Why is that, you and I have nothing to do with each other." Neji said.

"I'm talking about Gejimayu and Kenji! Gejimayu trains like crazy to prove to you his strength and Kenji trains so she can protect people like you! Believe it!" Naruto yelled. "And you just step all over them and label them as failures."

"I know Lee's intentions well but that girl. . . What are you going on about "protect?" You're delusional." Neji scoffed.

"Well I'll tell ya! It took me a while too but she already lost people important to her! She even went through some crazy stuff but that's not the point! When she decided to become a shinobi no one wanted that! It was people like you who tried forcing her to quit!" Naruto pointed with rage. "And she ignored them, all she wants to do is to make sure the same thing doesn't happen again that she'll lose the people important to her. Konoha are her comrades, and that includes you Neji!"

"Now she's my teammate! My friend! And you called my friend a failure, you called my friend a dog!" he roared. "Even now people are still trying to make her quit and that pisses me off."

He pounded his fist, "I'll never forgive you for that!"

"So that's who Kenji is? You say all this from a blind perspective. Your 'friend' is the fear the people of the Leaf village live every day. We don't know what kind of power she has and she's been hiding it. She deserves all that hatred, just by looking at her you can tell that she's no good." Neji said.

"She'll forever live in the hatred of Konoha, that's her fate!" Neji pointed. He told Naruto about his past, the Hyuga clan, the branch mark, the caged bird.

Naruto beat Neji with an upper cut punch. The tournament went on and Teruko tied with Shino. Soon the arena was put under a Genjutsu. And sand shinobi started attacking.

"Ninpo: Four Flames Formation!" the Hokage was taken hostage.

"What kind of barrier jutsu was that?" she asked. "I'm not allowed to go there but my comrades, my village." she thought. Then she remembered what Teruko said. "_But_ yo_u need to be ready you don't know it yet but your fight will come." she said. _

"I'm doing it!" she said and made her way to the arena. When she got there she found Naruto and Shikamaru lying there on the floor. She silently rushed over to them she felt their pulses. "Good they're still alive." she thought.

"Kenji?" she saw Sakura behind her.

"Why are the Hidden Sand attacking us?" Kenji asked.

"I don't know." Sakura answered.

Kenji looked up at the barrier. "There's nothing we can do about that barrier." she said. "Which means ultimately we're unable to help our Hokage." she told Sakura.

"Then what do we do?" Sakura asked.

"That's simple. Go after Sasuke." Kakashi told them.

"Oh yeah where is Sasuke?" Kenji asked.

"I dunno." Sakura answered.

"He went after Gaara and his team. You best reunite with your squad." Kakashi said.

"Sensei, do I really belong here? In squad 7?" she asked.

"That's for Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to answer." Kakashi answered and pricked his finger he made the correct hand seals. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" he summoned a dog.

"So what do we do with these guys?" Kenji asked.

"Huh? Obviously we break the Genjutsu." Sakura said.

"Yeah, actually I can't break Genjutsu on someone without stabbing them." Kenji said sweating.

"That's sounded wronger than it actually is." she said. She released the Genjutsu on Naruto.

Kenji scooted over the Shikamaru, she held a kunai knife in her hand and raised it above Shikamaru. "Well here I go." she said and started to bring it down. Then Shikamaru grabbed her wrist.

"Oh you're awake." Kenji remarked.

"You knew didn't you?" Shikamaru said.

"Well yeah." she said and pulled her hand back.

"Good, go find Sasuke." Kakashi thought. "Hopefully, Naruto will use his newfound skills to good purpose, Sakura will be safe, and Kenji. . . You should find the answer." he thought while looking at his students.

While they were zooming through the trees being lead by Pakkun, Naruto and Sakura were determined to get to Sasuke while Shikamaru looked like he had a stick up his rear. "Is it really my place? To be in Squad 7? If Kurenai Sensei accepted me I could've been on my own team. Even on the day of the team photo I missed it, I'm just an extra member." Kenji thought.

"Hey! Look out!" Shikamaru called.

**!** Kenji looked up and jumped away from a tree that was right in front of her. "I almost face planted myself." she thought.

"Look where you're going, if you're killed by a tree you'll never get your name on the memorial." Shikamaru told her.

"Right. . ." she said and they kept on moving. "Sasuke! Don't do anything stupid!" she thought as she jumped through the trees.


	47. Let the invasion begin

Let the invasion begin

"Sakura!" Kenji yelled but she lay limb. "Argh! You owe me 4 bowls of ramen." she said and carried her over her shoulder. She ran into the forest away from an enormous tailed beast.

Kenji gasped and skidded with Sakura still leaning on her. There was a team of Anbu standing in front of her, she stepped back. "Uh, hehe." she laughed nervously. "Heya guys, crazy day. Shouldn't you be protecting the village?" she asked them.

"We are." their leader said.

"Oh shoot!" she fell to the ground and dodged kunai and shurikens, they landed on the ground and in some of the trees. Sakura moaned, Kenji fell on top of her. "Ah, sorry!" she got off of her.

She pulled her up and jumped into a clearing. "Yeah just stay here for a little, enjoy the flowers." Kenji said as she laid Sakura on the grass with some flowers blooming.

Kenji turned and ran, "Aah!" she fell back on the ground. "Keh!" she sat up and put her hand on her shoulder. There was an arrow sticking out of it with blood staining her shirt.

Her Rinnegan saw something coming she rolled out of the way and a tree fell in front of her. The tailed beast's tail had knocked it down. "How did I get in this mess!?"

Approximately 10 minutes earlier,

"Hey was it really ok for us to leave Shikamaru behind?" Sakura asked.

"Hmm, as he is right now he'll have to rely on his brain not his skill. But I have faith in him." Kenji told her.

"Shikamaru says everything's a pain all the time," Naruto started.

"Yeah, no doubt." Kenji said.

"What? No! Anyway all we can do at this point in trust him!" Naruto told them.

They kept soaring through the trees. Kenji's Rinnegan saw further into the forest, an amateur with her eyes would get disoriented and probably even dizzy. "We're almost there!" then she gasped. "Oh no!"

"What?" Sakura asked her.

"I smell something bad up ahead. We may be getting into something that'll jeopardize the village." Pakkun said.

Naruto went and jumped ahead. "Naruto!" Kenji called when he jumped. He went straight up and kicked Gaara in the face away from Sasuke.

Temari was trembling in fear and a kunai was held to her neck. "Don't look behind you." a voice behind her said. Kenji found Temari, "Maybe she knows something about how to defeat him. . ." Kenji eyed Gaara.

"Tell me what you know about Sabaku no Gaara." Kenji asked.

"Hn." Temari smirked. "You guys from the Leaf won't be able to scratch him. He has the strength of a beast." she said.

"How's his defense?" Kenji said.

"His tail will destroy anything near him. And hitting him will have to be costly if you want any damage." Temari told her. "You won't beat him it takes more than a lucky shot to face him." she said.

**!** Kenji saw Sakura get pinned to a tree by Gaara.

"See, get to him and he'll crush you!" Temari said. "Our village has turned him into the most feared Shinobi. . . He'll kill you."

"Wanna bet?" Kenji said. "Never underestimate Konoha!" she knocked her out. "I've always wanted to say that!" she thought and pumped her fist. She jumped onto one of the trees beside Sakura. Pakkun sniffed the air. "That's strange. . ." he said.

"What is it?" she asked.

"The black ops are approaching here fast." he answered.

"Black ops?" Kenji wondered.

**! **"No way. . . They're taking advantage of the situation and they're gonna try eliminating me during the attack. How'd they know where to find me anyway?" she thought. "Well I'd better not take them lightly then."

Naruto was staring at Gaara with rage and also maybe fear. "Naruto, our friends are in danger." Kenji told him.

"Friends?" Gaara repeated making the word sound empty. "That's what makes you people weaker than me. Fighting for yourself only is what makes you stronger. So why fight for insignificant friends?" Gaara asked.

"Insignificant?" Naruto growled.

"The answer to that is easy." Kenji laughed. "My friends pulled me out when I was trapped by hatred. I'm just returning the favor." she said.

"Why you!?" Gaara sneered and Kenji braced for an attack.

"Oi!" Naruto shouted. "I'm gonna be the one to clobber you!" he said. "That's right! I can use this!" he made a couple hand seals and bit his thumb. He slammed his hand on a branch. A tiny little toad appeared from the smoke.

"Ah c'mon!" Kenji sweated.

Gaara detached his arm and started transforming more into a beast. There was still sand trapping Sakura. "If you can't beat me this sand will never go away. Also as time passes the sand will crush her and slowly suffocate this girl!" Gaara told them. Naruto and Kenji tensed up.

Naruto recognized that look in his eyes. "What lonely eyes. Such lonely eyes. . . This guy is holding a monster inside of him just like me." he thought.

**Cue Sadness and Sorrow**

He remembered when he found out and then he remembered his friends and comrades who saved him.

_"Naruto! Let's go have ramen for a change!" Iruka said with a thumbs up._

_"Yay! I'll have the one with extra BBQ pork slices!" Naruto cheered._

_One of many times Sasuke and Narto butted heads."Huh! Usuratonkachi, if you want to beat me train harder." Sasuke insulted._

_"Uruse 'ttebayo! I won't lose to you!" Naruto retorted._

_Getting blown off by Sakura, "Ne Naruto! What did Sasuke-kun say about me?" Sakura asked him._

_"He didn't say anything. . ." he answered and Sakura was disappointed. "By the way, by the way! Wouldn't you rather know how I feel?" he said as Sakura walked away. "Ah! Sakura teba! Aww!"_

_A D-rank mission spending time with Kenji and Sasuke they were harvesting vegetables. "Hn, I'm gonna go wash my hands." Sasuke said and left Naruto and Kenji._

_"Che! Why does that guy get a break?" Naruto asked looking back at Sasuke._

_"That pansy just doesn't want his dainty hands dirtied. The great Uchihas, spoiled jerk." Kenji told him. Then a spinning leek knocked her in the back of the head. _

_"Shut up! I don't like it when my clan or me are mocked by some disgusting tomboy." he said and Kenji got depressed. _

_"Itadakimasu!" he was about to dig into his ramen when a basket got in his way. _

_"Naruto, you'll really die if you only eat noodles and sweet red bean porridge. You're a ninja so eat more vegetables! Here have some." Kakashi said holding the basket of fresh vegetables in his face. _

_Naruto steered away from the vegtables. "Heehh! I don't like vegetables!" he complained._

_Then one time when Naruto was running through the village and Kenji happened to be walking there at the time. "Ooiiiii!" he waved. Kenji raised her hand to wave back, "Konnich-" _

_"Sakura-chan!" he ran right past her. Kenji instinctively put her hand on her head in embarrassment. Her face was flushed and she froze. "Oh it's just you. What is it Naruto?" Sakura asked sounded bothered. _

_"Your hair looks really pretty today. . ." Naruto complimented her._

_"Well of course." Sakura said. Then she cocked her head, "Hey, isn't that Kenji?"_

_"Huh?" Naruto replied cluelessly. _

_**!** Kenji immediately ran the corner. Naruto turned his head and didn't see her. "I don't see anyone. . ." he said. _

_"Hm, maybe it was my imagination." Sakura said. Kenji exhaled in relief and walked away._

"I found people who acknowledged me. That's why I became all right, even though there was a demon fox inside my body, or even if the people of the village looked at me with cold eyes. Because. . . I wasn't alone anymore!"

Sakura groaned in pain from being squeezed by Gaara's sand. Naruto jumped to attack him, he put his fingers in the clone seal. "Tajuu kage bunshin no jutsu!" he shouted. He was only blown back by a strong wind jutsu.

He turned to Kenji and she flinched and braced herself. He brought his tail back and Kenji crossed her arms in front of her. She was hit by his tail and bounced off of the trunk of a tree. "Ugh!" she fell down on the branch of the tree.

She forced her eyes open and looked at Gaara, a fearsome beast with undoubtful power. Her eye wavered and a leaf slowly floated in front of it. Then she saw herself, her former self. "Yeah, he's just like how I was. . . Heh, I'm not that special." she said and forced herself up on her hands and knees.

"Naruto!" she yelled. "You beat this guy to a pulp! I'm going to save Sakura!" she said.

Naruto started his fight with Gaara and Kenji jumped over to Sakura's tree. "Ok Sakura I'm gonna get you out." she said and started looking at the sand from different angles. "Ummm. . ." she sweated and turned to Sasuke who could barely move. "Hey Sasuke, how do you get this stuff off? Is what I'd ask if I were a loser!" she thought. "Hah! I don't need that pansy's help all I gotta do is figure how this foreign jutsu from the Sand village that I've never seen before works." she thought again.

She tried slashing at the sand with a chakra blade and nothing happened. Then the tip of her blade snapped. She put the blade under the sand and tried to pry it off even using her foot to push off the tree. She fell back her rod was snapped again.

"Darn it!" she threw the last piece of her rod at the sand. It did nothing. "I could've easily gone his way. . . But now I have people to protect, they taught me there's more to life than just violence. It's lonely without comrades, they helped me find my true purpose for existence."

She looked closely at the sand there was chakra flowing in it. "This sand is fueled by Gaara's chakra. Which means it's ninjutsu! That's it's one weakness!"

**! ! **Kenji slowly turned around."What is that!?" Sasuke thought. He and Kenji were staring wide eyed at a gigantic beast. Something that could wipe out the entire forest if called for, or the village.

"That is. Awesome!" Kenji exclaimed. She started looking at the beast blushing with a wide cheery smile.

Sasuke sweated, "She's afraid of snakes but not monsters like that?" he thought.

Sakura groaned from being crushed by the sand and Kenji was snapped back into reality. "Oh sorry," she apologized. She examined the sand again. "Judging by the size it looks like I'll only need one this big." she thought holding her palm out. "I have to be extra careful or I could accidentally kill her."

She got one on knee and held her right palm in front of her face. She blew on her hand and her hair started flowing behind her a little. Wind started circling in her hand. "Chibaku Tensei!" She held it up to the end of the sand and it started getting sucked up.

Soon Sakura was free. Kenji caught her, "Ugh!" Sakura took a deep breath. Kenji put her arm over her shoulder. She jumped away, she landed on the ground. But then a shock wave hit them. "Ah!" Kenji bounced and rolled on the ground. She coughed in the dust.

She got up and ran to pick Sakura up off the ground. She was still out of it.

"Sakura!" Kenji yelled but she lay limb. "Argh! You owe me 4 bowls of ramen." she said and carried her by the shoulders. She ran into the forest away from an enormous tailed beast. She skidded and stepped back, "Uh. . ."

Now back to where she currently was she pulled the arrow out and stood up. "I'm gonna be pissed if the ramen shop gets destroyed."


	48. The Hokage's Funeral

**5/11/15 a year ago I started publishing this thing I got over 40 chapters done and still going.**

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Kenji pulled the arrow out and stood up. "Teme!" she growled and threw one of her rods at the archer. The spinning rod smacked him in the forehead and he fell off his tree.

**!** The squad was in the air with their swords ready to stab her. They clanged and hit kunai knives, she had one in each hand.

She pushed their swords away and jumped into the trees. One of them appeared in front of her and she jumped off and planted her feet on a tree trunk. A sword came out from the tree and stabbed her through her arm.

**!** Kenji jumped off and landed on the ground. She grasped her wound to try and stop the bleeding. "Tch, I missed!" one of the Anbu ops said.

"Focus! This will save millions."

Then they got spiked with shurikens. "Katon: Goukakyu no jutsu!" the two black ops got blasted away. "Idiots, they're killing people. They could be saving other lives right now." she thought.

Another agent appeared behind her and she quickly got out of the way otherwise her head would've been sliced clean off. She was about to land when she suddenly used her Shinra Tensei to rocket herself to a tree she hung onto a branch with one hand. "That was close!"

The black op ran and his foot landed on the flat surface of a hidden scroll. His body was binded by a sealing jutsu, hand written characters restraining him. "You guys set that trap earlier I just noticed it after you tried to behead me." she said.

Then a log took his place. Kenji gasped, "Kawarimi!?"

He appeared again going for a head on attack while she was dangling from a tree. She had a kunai in her left hand and it threw off the sword's trajectory just enough to save herself.

"Ergh!" she threw her kunai and grabbed the branch with both hands. Her kunai didn't hit her target as it was thrown by her left hand (non dominate).

She pulled herself up and stood up on the tree. She was faced with the Anbu and ran straight for him. "Heh, fool." he had his sword ready. But she just tackled him by the waist and a rapid damage came to the trees they were standing on. He dropped his sword.

While they they were falling he took out a kunai knife and stabbed the muscle between her neck and shoulder. She gritted her teeth in pain and pushed him away while she reached to another tree.

But he yanked on her shirt and her head banged on the tree and bounced off. They started descending and while they were falling Kenji planted her feet on his chest, grabbed his shirt in her fist, and knocked him out with a hook punch to the face.

But regardless they still fell. Kenji walked sloppily with her hand on her eye, it was swollen from getting her head rammed on that tree. Her wound on her neck stung too, it was rather deep.

She lay down in the grass, "Naruto. . ."

While Naruto was fighting Gaara he summoned the chief toad. He punched Gaara awake and soon he used his nine tails chakra and head butted him hard. They were both bleeding from the forehead and exhausted.

They landed on each landed on a tree and flew at each other. Naruto punched him across the face again and they fell to the ground.

Sasuke had found Sakura safely lying down in the forest. He carried her over to Pakkun. Meanwhile Kenji stood up, "Ow!" she put her hand on her swollen eye again. She walked past a black op.

She stopped when she felt a hand around her ankle. "If I. . was hit by that tail. I would've died. Why did you save me?" he asked her.

"Would a comrade let you die like that?" she asked. "I'd never let a comrade die, their lives mean more than mine after all." she said and pulled her leg away. She kept walking.

"How could you say that about your own life?" he said.

"Because if it did matter you guys wouldn't try to kill me." she answered and disappeared.

Naruto on the other hand was using his draining strength to crawl over to Gaara. "Why is this guy so strong?" Gaara thought.

Naruto started to remember his past, his painful past. Gaara's childhood was probably a mirror image of that. Both containing monsters within their own bodies and suffering solitude.

_"To them I'm just a relic of the past who they want to see disappear. So what did I have in this life, why did I keep living?"_ was what Gaara said to him.

He remembered what Haku told him. _"And at the time, I thought of myself that I. . . No that is what I had to think. And I knew that it was the most painful thing. That I. . . My existence didn't matter to anyone else in the world."_

And his best friend, _"When I decided I would become a shinobi the adults and Jonins greatly disputed my choice. They even complained to the Hokage that he should've killed me. . . Everyone hated me,"_

He kept crawling over to Gaara willing to kill for what happened to his comrades. But then Sasuke came to tell him that Sakura was alright and he finally relaxed.

The following day the sky was stained with lots of dark clouds. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura wore black clothes to attend the 3rd Hokage's funeral.

"Yup, this sucks!" Kenji said. "I cop for a minute and they chain me to a swing, hoorah. . ."

"We're only keeping you here for a couple hours. Then we're letting you go, so quit whining girl." the guard told her.

"Yeah ok but what's the point of sitting my butt in a swing!? And I'm not a fan of having my hands in cuffs." she wiggled her fingers. She sat in a swing that was high enough that her feet couldn't touch the ground and her hands were cuffed to the chains holding the swing. Her wounds were also bandaged, including her swollen eye.

"This prison is meant for masterminded criminals and rogue ninjas. . . This is merely one of the unique rooms, and your hands are binded for good reason. Without them you can't weave seals or any jutsu, in other words you're powerless!" he said.

Kenji looked around, "Yeah, your 'unique' room's missing a fish tank." she said. "And a coffee table."

"Man, they said she'd be more dangerous than anything Konoha's ever seen, obviously we got ripped off." he thought as Kenji let out a yawn.

"Why am I locked up in here anyway? I didn't do anything." she said.

"We're supposed to keep you here until the funeral ends." he answered.

"Eh?"

"The 3rd Hokage was killed in action, by Orochimaru." he said.

**! ! **Her eyes widened. "Why? I want to go too! He's our Hokage!" she argued.

"I don't know why ok? You're a weirdo on the eyes but the council ordered you to stay in this prison til they bail you." he said and walked away.

"Hey!" Kenji called as he walked away from the bars of her cell. After he walked away, she looked at the floor. "He was always there for me that old man." she thought. "I guess in the end there was nothing I could do for him."

Then someone entered her cell. She looked up and was in shock. "Danzo." she thought. "Stay calm! Whatever you do don't show any emotion." she thought.

"Looks like you got yourself beat in the invasion." he said. "So much misfortune comes with being a Senju, your great paternal grandparents were scum."

Kenji just looked at the left wall. "I'm not exactly proud of my lineage but I'm not ashamed of it either." she thought. "Whatever, you don't know anything about my family." she said. "Just hurry up and leave already!" she thought.

He chopped her on the back of her neck. "Hey!" she exclaimed.

"Looks like I can't knock her out." he thought.

"I learned that you failed the Chunin exams. Not only that but you assaulted a prodigy of the Hyuga clan. You'd better keep your actions in check. You don't realize your own strength." he told her.

"I know my strength well enough to know for sure that you can't have it!" she thought. "Man why am I the only one who hates this guy?!"

Danzo used his left hand and covered her mouth. She gasped and started squirming, her hands were clenched in her cuffs. Danzo pulled his right arm out of his robe showing his braces and opened her eye.

Knowing he was trying to steal them Kenji kneed him in the stomach forcing him off of her. He let go of her face and she kicked him into the bars.

"That was tyranny!" she said.

"Hmph. One day you are going to put those to test and fail. You can't handle them." he picked up his cane and left.

"I will eventually. You might be dead by then but I will learn how to use them." she thought.

Later she was escorted out the prison in rope. "Alright kid go away, don't cause anymore trouble when the village is already torn up ok?" one of the staff said, he cut her rope and pushed her.

Before she ran off she stuck her tongue out at him and disappeared in the trees. When she finally returned to the village it was sunny. She stopped at the cemetery and looked down at the new tombstones. Especially the 3rd Hokage's.

She saw the stores, doors, and windows closed. "I guess everyone already went home."

She stood in front of her door, where she used to live. "It's been a while." she thought. "I'll go get my stuff later," she opened the door. "Aaahh! What you doing here!?"

The council was there with Kurenai. "You can no longer reside in this room." Koharu said.

"Wha. . ." her eyes turned blank. "Why not?"

"You violated our request, we told you to stay away from the Chunin exams during the tournament. We had people like the Kazekage there." Homura told her. "Your presence humiliates our village."

"Don't you think it was more humiliating that Orochimaru had us in a padlock!?" she pointed her finger at him.

"Kenji!" Kurenai grabbed her wrist. That was when Kenji's expression showed sadness. "The attack was inevitable. And that doesn't excuse the fact that you disobeyed authorities you're being kicked out as punishment." she said.

"Punishment?" Kenji yanked her hand back. "Even punishment ends, this will go on forever that's not punishment!"

"There's one way you can keep this room." Kurenai held her hand out in front of her. "Give up your hitaiate, additionally your ninja registration will be erased, and you'll be expelled from Squad 7." she explained. "Naturally you'll also be forbidden from practicing ninjutsu. But you'll be able to stay here." she said.

. . . Kenji's eyes were shadowed over. "I refuse." she answered. "To become a Genin I failed twice in a row. I can't do the Henge no jutsu or the Shunshin no jutsu, but I managed to master the clone jutsu and the Kawarimi." she said. "I'm a shinobi now and no one can take that away from me."

"Do you intend to live on the streets!?" Kurenai yelled.

"No but I'd rather give up my tongue than my hitaiate!" Kenji told her. She closed the door and ran away.


	49. Blood red clouds

Blood red clouds

"Hey, Naruto. . ."

"Heya, Kenji. I'm heading to Ichiraku's 'ttebayo!" Naruto said.

"I have more training ahead. Um, is it ok if I stay in your room for an extra day? I don't really have a good reason." she asked.

"Sure!" he grinned. "We're nakama aren't we? I like having you around." he said and started to walk off.

"Sankyuu!" she said her cheeks were tinted again

"Wow, I guess not even people like you can confess."

**!** "Omae!" Kenji saw Neji standing there. "What do you want!?" she said and crossed her arms.

"Look I might've gotten the wrong idea about you." Neji said. "And by the way I think you should just go say it, he'll understand."

"You don't understand! He likes Sa-! I'm getting off topic, you're a prick!" she yelled at him.

Neji rested his face on his hand, "Look I haven't exactly been very, polite. And I told the Anbu that you were present for the tournament but-" he said.

Kenji gasped, she lost all color. "That was you!?" she said.

"What?"

"I should've known! The only ones who knew I was there was Aneki and I, you saw me but you couldn't have known that I wasn't allowed there." she said.

"Yeah well I used my Byakugan to make out your conversation with her. . ." Neji told her.

"You were spying on me?" Kenji asked.

"Yes. . . But that was a while ago." he said.

"A while ago? Yeah, a while ago I got evicted!" she said.

"Evicted?" he repeated.

"Yeah, I got kicked out of my place. They said I could stay there if I quit but there's no way I'd do that. So now I have nowhere to stay and quite honestly I wanted to see my friends and my family fight so I guess I went a little rebel on them. . ." she admitted. "Argh! First you feel me up now this?" she exclaimed and turned her back.

"What's there to feel?" Neji asked and Kenji's head jolted up. Neji sweated. Kenji's head was crushed by depression.

"Anyway," she was blushing again. "Just butt out!" she knocked her fist into his shoulder and ran from it. Neji put his hand on his shoulder and saw her run up a building and jump away.

She was standing upside down from a tree and tied down a think piece of rope. "Yosha." she landed on the ground on one knee. "Punching bag huh?"

Kenji turned around, "Ohayo." Teruko said and jumped in front of her. Kenji just blinked as she looked up at her. "You're supposed to say 'Ohayo' back." she said with her hands on her hips.

"Un!" Kenji glued her arms to her sides. "O-ohayo." she stuttered.

Teruko sighed, "I see fighting skills are good but your people skills and communication suck." Teruko said.

Kenji got depressed. "That's not a bad thing!" Teruko tried calming her down. "It's a fair trade. Besides you'd rather be stronger right?" she asked and Kenji nodded. "What you really need to worry about is your hair it's a rat's nest." she laughed.

"Not everyone can have light hair like you!" Kenji thought, her face was scrunched up.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" Teruko said. "Okaa-san had hair similar to yours." she told her. "Here see." she pulled out a picture. Kenji walked over to look at it.

It was a picture taken before she was born. A much younger Teruko was there with her pregnant mom and her father. Kayoko did have medium length hair it was unkempt and dark chocolate brown colored. Nojirama's hair was quite reddish, he had dark eyes the pupil just blended in.

Kenji focused on Kayoko's eyes, they were a shade lighter than her hair and just in the photo Kenji sensed a fighting spirit. Kayoko's eyes had a fire in them but they were still human. "If that hadn't happened would my eyes look like that?" she thought.

"The way I am right now neither mom or dad would recognize me." she said.

"Hey. . ." Teruko said. "You can keep this, I've had it long enough." she gave it to her. Kenji took it and looked at it in her hand.

"Ne aneki, I have something to ask." Kenji said.

"Shoot."

"Will we be alright?" she asked. "I mean Konoha of course without Jiji who's gonna be Hokage?" she asked.

"Mm," Teruko put a hand on her mouth. "I had a thought about that too but I'd like to think that it's nothing but a crazy prediction." she said. "Did Otou-san ever tell you about his sister?"

"Yeah, Tsuna-hime." Kenji answered.

"That's right. She's crazy strong," Teruko put her hand on Kenji's head and turned her to look at the plateau. "You see that?" she pointed at the plateau. "Tsuna-hime has the raw power to split that in half." she said.

"For real!?" Kenji exclaimed.

"Yeah." Teruko said. "She's a beast when it comes to that stuff. And she's also a medical ninjutsu expert." she said.

"Better than you?" Kenji asked.

"Masaka!" Teruko said. "Well maybe. . ." she thought. "But don't count on her being the Hokage!" she said.

"Why not?" Kenji asked.

"She's not the leader type." Teruko answered. "She was a spoiled brat as a kid otou-san's grandfather gave her everything and she's got a gambling addiction. All she ever drinks is saké! An old gambling, alcohol drinking hag as our Hokage will be the end of us!" she exclaimed. "Kenji! You must promise you won't grow up to be anything like her!"

"Hai! I promise!" she said.

"But worst of all, she doesn't care." Teruko said. "She doesn't give a damn about Konoha. She left Konoha years ago just like Orochimaru!" she said.

"Is that true?" Kenji asked.

"Yeah." she answered. "And I forgot to mention, she's a total baby when it comes to blood."

"That's ridiculous, didn't you just say she was a medical ninja? Kenji said.

"Yeah I did." Teruko told her.

"Oh. . ." there's was an awkward silence after that irony.

The wind blew fiercely and the leaves flew all around.

**! !** "You feel that too!?" Teruko asked.

"Yeah." Kenji answered.

They jumped from tree to tree. "Where is all this bloodlust coming from?" she asked.

"I don't know just keep going!" Teruko shouted. Then she stopped, she landed on a branch Kenji landed on the branch above her. "Get down!" she ordered and Kenji squatted down. They were hidden by the leaves and saw what was going on.

Kenji saw two foreign figures with Kurenai, Asuma, and Kakashi. She saw the black cloaks and red cloud emblems. The color of blood. "Aneki, who're they?" she asked.

"Get a good look Kenji, that's the Akatsuki." Teruko said. "They're bad news." she said.

"Hey, that's Itachi. Why is he there?" Kenji said.

"You know him?"

"He's the one who taught me Genjutsu and he's also my friend's brother." she said. Itachi's eyes moved and he looked to their direction.

**! !** The sisters became anxious and Teruko put her hands together in the snake seal. A wooden dome grew over Itachi. "Listen Kenji the Akatsuki's goal is to kidnap the people who have tailed beasts sealed within their bodies." she said.

Kenji immediately caught her drift and ran away. "Naruto!" she finally got to the village and was running at a fast pace, she ran past a wind chime and it rang.

She skidded her feet at the ramen shop. "Welcome!" she just came in and turned Naruto around. "Oh Kenji!"

"Are you hurt?" she examined his hands, she was panting. "You, you can't be here. . ." she breathed.

"What?" Naruto said.

"Oh hey there little lady." a much older man said. "Are you coming with Naruto?"

**? **"Where?"

Later at the gate, Naruto was trying to drag a large bag. Jiraiya was standing beside, Kenji was behind the gate. "Are you sure?"

"No but I am sure that I need to protect him." Kenji said.

"Whoa, I know you got away with Orochimaru but these guys are way out of there. If you fight them you'll be pulverized. They're stronger than you."

"But we have him." Kenji pointed to Jiraiya. "That's the toad sage, a Sannin. He taught okaa-san, he's legendary."

"He's a pervert." Teruko said.

"Whatever I'm going, maybe this training will help me too. And besides I get to be with Naruto for once without Sasuke or Sakura." she said.

"Ok, but you must come back alive. No exceptions." Teruko said.

"Alright." Kenji said and Teruko gave her an amaryllis. Kenji ran over to Jiraiya and Naruto.

"Oh, that flower. You saw her?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah. Iku ze!" she said. "I promise I'll protect you from the Akatsuki. . ." she thought.


End file.
